Mega Man X: End of A Dream
by Erico
Summary: In the time between X4 and X5, a reckoning is reached, and as X and Zero confront their past, they must reach ahead...To seek the End of A Dream.
1. A Foreword for Newcomers

FOREWORD

By Erico

            A few things to be said as far as EOAD is concerned.

            I wrote this back in April of 2000. I finished it Midsummer of that year. Soon after, I began work on AUF, with much more improvement in the style and length.

            So take that in mind. This was the first attempt at a Mega Man X Fanfic, and while maintaining the original and managing to place it in the Timeline of the games, I added my own characters into it for what I hoped was an enjoyable read.

            Perhaps it still is.

            **_UPDATED MAY 18th, 2004: _Something I eventually realized too late, after finishing WIT and slugging away at the final chapters of DOTP, was that End of a Dream, the first Mega Man Fanfiction I had ever written back in 2000, had some critical flaws in its story(Namely, how Light's Information Capsule was aware of the origins and role of the Virus, and the antivirus itself) that did not match up with later sections of the Trilogy(EOAD-TSOM-DOTP). Therefore, it had always sat sort of abandoned at the back of my archives, a reminder of my own unfortunate errors. Now full into summer, I finally have found the time to break away from my other projects long enough to return to the world of Mega Man X long enough to make the necessary corrections. However, because I understand that some of my readers would not want me to touch EOAD's style, I will not 'add' to it or make any changes, short of those that prevent EOAD from being correct and in line with The Sound of Mavericks and Demons of The Past. **

**            With these facts in mind, I return you to End of a Dream…at last corrected, at last a fully functional part of a much larger whole in the Legacy of Metal.**

            A few other things to be considered.

Cossack was younger than Light. It is still possible that even in 2130(at the ripe age of around 100!!!), he could still be alive. There's a bit more swearing in EOAD than AUF. Once again, I attribute this to the general growth that overcame my style. If you'll watch carefully, you'll see the differences begin to stack up about halfway through EOAD. It is my personal belief that between X4 and X5, there is a large time span between 20-100 years. It could certainly account for why there's no sign of Cain in X5, and why everything in the Hunter Base is ancient and aged, like the Enigma Cannon and the Shuttle. 

With these things in mind, you can silence the doubts in your mind and just enjoy it. What begins here does not end. It continues.


	2. Introduction

**__**

MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM

BY ERICO

__

INTRODUCTION

Shortly after the Repliforce uprising, there was a period when all walked in a daze. Surely there was a mistake! What could be causing the Maverick infection? And why had Sigma been able to reappear, according to X's report? In any case, for once in Mankind's history, they were not sure of the future. And that scared them.

Man is an odd creature. They like to feel in control, want to know that in all the chaos there is still a shred of that basic feeling of protection. When reploids were made, the original goal was to put androids and robots on par with humans, creating a Utopian society where they could coexist, sharing their deepest feelings and dreams with each other.

But sadly, all dreams are usually shattered. The final attempt at the utopian society turned into a warzone at Doppler Town. Although it was quelled, it spelled the end of any sort of peace with reploids. Doctor Doppler had supposedly created the Sigma Anti-Virus, the curative and preventative that destroyed all remnants of Maverick Disease, but his fall to that same plague proved that no matter how hard the attempt was made, reploids would fall.

Even the great Repliforce, a reploid army dedicated to justice could not resist Sigma's control. This is the tale of what happened after the defining moment of that battle. Wherever there is good, evil will be too. That is the way of things, for always is a balance. 

And to maintain that balance, a heavy toll would be required.


	3. A Day Of Reckoning

MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM

By Erico

**_CHAPTER ONE: A DAY OF RECKONING_**

            X and Zero were the heads of the force known as Maverick Hunter Headquarters. They had attained that position after their battle skills and grace under pressure were proven in the first and second conflict with Sigma. All there respected them, but at the same time feared them.

            The building filled with members during tense Maverick uprisings now stood empty. Only Dr. Cain, X and Zero remained, for they had nothing to return to. All they held dear had been lost, and now this calling was all they had left. X sat in his chair, padded with synthetic leather and rescanned himself with the diagnostic program installed in every computer at the facility. X was the first advanced robot created, by Doctor Thomas Light, the renowned genius whose creations had helped change the world forever. Just then Doctor Cain walked in, hobbling on his wooden crutch. He could have gotten a far nicer one made of durable metals, but Doctor Cain felt that his old cane which he had used to uncover the remains of Light's lab should be kept in use as long as possible.

            "Evening, X." he peered over X's shoulders and shook his head. "That's the fourth one you've run today. Trust me, X. You're not infected." But even the sage words of his discoverer could not qualm the storm that rumbled within X's tormented mind.

            "You keep saying that. I keep saying that, sir. But no matter how many times I hear it, I don't believe it." X quickly shut off the program and accessed his database on Mega Man. Cain realized X was feeling troubled, and so he changed the subject.

            "I see you have quite a collection of data on your predecessor there. I was just a boy when Mega Man was fighting Wily's creations. My, he was short, but he was the best hope we had. Light was a genius, no doubt about it. After all, he created you, didn't he?" Cain smiled warmly and patted X on the back.

            X felt better, for Dr. Cain had always been a sort of surrogate father to him. X had grown up not knowing a thing about himself, only that Dr. Light had made him and Dr. Cain found him.

            "Yes. I always wondered what became of him. I would have liked to have a family…" X's voice trailed off as he became saddened at the realization he had made. Cain put his cane up and gave X his helmet back, which lay carelessly tossed on the desk.

            "I know you must feel abandoned, X. But you should know by now that Zero and I are your family. Or as close as one can be." Cain chuckled, hoping to lighten X up a bit. It worked, and then X smiled. X had always had the ability to flash a smile that no other reploid could match. Probably because X was originally designed not as a war machine, but a simple robot representation of a fourteen year old boy. Carefully X reattached his helmet, covering the jet black mane that waved beneath.

            "Come on, X. Zero is in the rec room, and I think he might enjoy a joint training session." And so X and Cain left the cold interior of the control room, walking towards the rec room at the other end of the building.


	4. Hidden Fury

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**CHAPTER TWO: HIDDEN FURY**

            Zero was where Cain had said he would be. The rec room was incredibly large compared to most in the world, but then again this was more of a training center. Before Sigma had turned, he had emphasized the importance of training.

            "I tell you Dr. Cain, the more time spent in training, the less injuries and deaths we will receive on the battlefield!" that phrase was one of the few left that the old Sigma was remembered by. The quote hung above the entrance, framed on matte board and covered with an ancient clear solid known as "glass."

            But Zero was not swinging easily from high bar to low bar, nor sprinting with his dash boots. Even the target range was unschorched by plasma fire, and the beam saber dummies had not a cut on them. Zero sat above in the rafters, his legs dangling easily. Zero was thinking.

            He had much to think about. Somehow, Sigma knew a crucial part of Zero's past, one which was a blur and came only in fragmented images when he was recuperating in a recharge chamber in stasis. More important on his mind was his lost friend, Iris. He had been attracted to her, but Repliforce's turnaround caused them to become enemies. Finally, Iris died. Or a closer term would be shut down. Zero himself had been shut down by his suicide attack at Vile's walker in the first Maverick War, but thanks to X's efforts was able to be reassembled none the worse for wear. But when the station exploded, the remains of Iris went with it.

            "Hey Zero!" X called up. The sudden voice broke Zero from his trance, and he popped down, landing easily with the aid of a well-timed boot thruster. His hair, long and fiery blond, came to rest a second later. That and the incredibly red armor he wore distinguished Zero from others, much like X's childish appearance did for him. Zero smiled at X, his long time friend and partner. But it was smaller than it had been before the Repliforce incident, for that was when X had asked Zero to destroy him if he ever went Maverick himself. And Zero was also plagued, but not by demons of demeanor but the voice of those lost, voices forever silenced because Zero had failed in ending the threat. Both had their demons tormenting each other, but their bond to each other was what got them through it.

            "Hey, X. What are you doing down here? I thought you would be in the control room," Zero asked, breaking the ice.

            "I was, but Dr. Cain informed me you were down here."

            "I'm sorry if we bothered you, Zero. The way I figure it, the both of you need to practice your techniques." The elderly doctor chuckled. Zero smiled at the thought of battle.

            Unlike X, who viewed battle as a terrible thing, only to be pursued for the continuance of peace, Zero enjoyed battle. Those who fought with him could tell you the only time Zero was truly happy was when he was charging through a horde of enemies with his blaster going off and his beam saber slicing through the thick armor.

            "So what kind of training? Should it be a saber duel, or a blaster showdown? I'm open to both!" Zero clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously. X shook his head.

"How about a match in chess? Simple, strategic, a battle of wits!" Zero's smile faded. X was the chess champion and nobody liked to go against him.

            "Don't even try that again. I just played you in a game a day ago. Now put on your armor and I'll set the chamber for team raid." X shrugged, and Zero walked over to the computer-input unit that was installed in the wall.

            "Computer, verify. Zero, designation Geold 26."

            "Identification verified. What can I do for you Zero?" the feminine but hollow computer generated voice of Dawn Wells wafted through the room. Dr. Cain had it installed because of his affinity for the actress who played a movie star in some old show called "Gilligan's Island." The running joke at Headquarters was Cain actually knew the dead for 200-year actress when she was alive.

            "Battle mode. Holographic simulation alpha, Team raid function." Instantly the room quivered, and the metallic walls disappeared as a holographic image of a cramped city block took its place. By now, X had warped into his X1 armor, the first set given by Doctor Light's hidden capsules. If he had worn one of his other sets, he would have put Zero at the disadvantage. Cain had left the room and was waiting in the control room. If by some quirk or glitch the simulation got out of hand or locked up, Cain could shut it down and ensure the trainee's survival. A ringing bell sound told X and Zero the session had started, and the two set off, their Busters at the ready.

            The program was well written. Not only did X and Zero have to worry about eliminating the reploid holograms with their simulation attachment, (it was based off an ancient device called the "Light Zapper" that worked with a system called the "Famicom", and allowed them to keep fire stats without worrying about blowing anything up with their plasma cannons.) But also they had to keep in mind some of the holograms were innocents that hurt their score if they were hit. This was designed to give them a real world feel, for in a tight situation there was no time to go back in practice. It wasn't like this was a video game. X being the more cautious was taking his time as he walked around, his cannon at the ready. Zero however leapt and boosted about without a care in the world.

            "Isn't this GREAT, X?" Zero laughed as he pegged a hologram crouching on the rooftop. X swerved around, but put his arm down as he identified a friendly individual. Zero sped ahead of X and kept his work up.

            By now Zero had hit about twenty targets and was feeling better. Zero's way of dealing with a problem was fighting it, and this was no different. But then the holograms shifted their forms, slowly at first so that Zero thought he might be going too fast and they were a blur. But then it became unmistakable.

            The holograms were turning into images of X. Zero froze, unable to continue firing at the form of his friend. Just then, another image appeared before him. A man clothed in a lab coat, casual pants, with ghost white hair appeared. The face was blurred, but the outline was there.

            "Zero…my masterpiece…" Zero gasped.

            For some time Zero had been having the same dream where this man came to him, telling him to destroy "him." And now it was clear who "him" was. Zero's memory was fuzzy of his past before the first Maverick Uprising, but when he had first started having his dream, images had come back in furious waves. This person, Zero's creator wanted him to destroy X.

            "What do you want?" Zero pleaded with the apparition.

            "Destroy him. He is our enemy, our rivalry gives me motivation in life. Now go. That's an order!" the man's voice was old, scratchy…and sinister.

            "I…I can't…X…my friend…" Zero whispered in fear. The shadow turned back to him, whirling around quickly. The image's eyes glowed bright red.

            "You must. It is your mission. I built you for that reason. Destroy him, and infect the world with my hatred!" the man vanished in a puff of light, leaving Zero standing in darkness, alone to his thoughts, dazed and confused. Then the holograms began to advance on Zero, their faces angry, their voices loud, making no distinguishable sound but still creating a cacophony that left Zero clenching his head in agony.

            "Please…leave me alone…just leave me alone…please!" he pleaded with them, but they only got closer and closer, louder and louder. Zero shut his eyes and a tear fell down his face.

            "Leave me alone…leave me alone…LEAVE ME ALONE!" Finally he shouted. He opened his eyes and the X holograms stood before him, their cannons upraised. Zero dropped the game attachment and lifted his own cannon. Firing with a fury unmatched by any before, his plasma blasts sizzled through the room, passing straight through the holograms. Zero cried out, his bloodcurdling scream echoing about the chamber like that of a wild caged, tormented beast.

            Then one of the Xs stepped forth and grabbed Zero by the arms. It was the real X, equipped with his fourth "Force" armor set. The environment shut down, but the Xs remained. Then another one came forth and injected him with an anesthetic.

            "Go away…go away…leave me alone…" Zero sobbed as he drifted into an uneasy sleep, with X and Dr. Cain standing above him, their faces covered in worry.


	5. Buried Secrets

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**CHAPTER THREE: BURIED SECRETS**

            When Zero came to, Cain and X were standing over him, but also present was a familiar smell of cleaning solution. It took Zero a while to realize that he was in the sickbay. Reaching behind him, he found his saber missing.

            "Wha…" Zero looked down and found his arm cannon had been detached.

            "We removed your weapons systems because you were in an incredible state of hallucination and anger." The reploid doctor Hazil rolled over. Hazil was more of a multi-armed computer on wheels than a doctor, but that only allowed him to increase the number of difficult tasks he could accomplish. He reached in himself and pulled from his lower compartment a container of Coke. "Here, drink this. It may help you overcome the effects of the anesthetic." Zero grabbed it hungrily and gulped it down. His internal reactor would fuse the atoms in the substance and give him an energy boost, as well as disperse of the waste products.

            "Hey buddy. Good news, you're not infected." X chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood.

            "But still, something caused you to flip out Zero. What was it?" Zero put the empty canister down beside him and grabbed his saber. Plucking it back in the shoulder holster, he shook his head and ran an internal diagnostic.

            "I don't know, but it's happened before."

            "What?!" Cain coughed. "Are you telling me this short circuit has occurred while you've been on duty?"

            "No, only when I've been on rest cycle. But now it's happening while I'm awake."

            "What happens during this?" X asked. The tone of sincere caring in his voice was deep.

            "It starts off with some old man just popping in on me. I can't make out his full image, only his outline. But even that is enough to scare me." X, Cain and even Hazil were listening intently.

            "He knows my name, but he calls me his masterpiece. Then he says for me to go and destroy 'him' because 'him' is his nemesis. Today I finally discovered who he was talking about." Zero turned to them and put his arm cannon back on.

            "It was you, X." The blunt statement surprised all in the room and X's face had a rare look of surprise.

            "Me? Why me?" he said. Zero shook his head.

            "I don't know. All the holograms which we were fighting turned into holograms of you, and they surrounded me. That's when I started shooting." There was nothing but empty silence as Zero stopped.

            "In any case, I gotta go sort this out. You have my comm channel if you need me." With that, the radiant red Maverick Hunter Zero stepped out of the Headquarters and into the unknown.

            It was two days from when Zero was heard from, but as long as X was there, there was no need for alarm. No Maverick riots were reported. As far as anyone cared, everything was running smoothly. The newest batch of Maverick Hunter recruits had arrived, all headstrong reploids from every corner of the earth imaginable, with every form from humanoid to floating headbots. Cain was with them in the auditorium.

            "Welcome, youngsters. I am Dr. Cain, the pioneer of reploids. To help you in your new career, I am going to give you the basic overlay of just who and what you all are." They all listened intently, but Cain could tell there were a few in the crowd who just wanted to go out into the target range. Those were the ones in stasis.

            "A reploid is a highly advanced robot. They can come in any form, any size, or any color. The only one true thing about all reploids is that they have the ability to think like humans and make their own decisions. You yourselves have made a decision of that kind by deciding to join us here." Cain paused and pushed a button underneath his microphone. It booted a program that searched for stasis-mode reploids in the room, then sent a powerful, but non-damaging electrical current through their seats. Just like waking up a baby. The effects were immediate as about twenty of the three hundred shot up swearing and screaming. Laughter filled the room, but Cain waved his hands.

            "Now that I have your full attention; this brings me to my next point. Because of this, the designer of the first next-generation robot, Dr. Thomas Light took great pains in securing his prototype in a capsule that would run diagnostic programs for an extended period of time. The reason why is that he feared robots like his prototype would be able to break The First Rule of Robotics…" Cain was cut off by the monotonous drone of the room.

            "No robot shall ever cause harm to a human being." Cain smiled warmly.

            "Good for you."

            "Sir! Sir!" a frantic hand waved about. "Sir, isn't it true that after you found X, you abandoned all warnings on the capsule and started activating reploids right after they were made?" the hand belonged to a young humanoid reploid with orange coloring. The datapad list said that his name was Bastion. Cain frowned.

            "Yes, it is true. But if I had not done so, you would not be around to talk about it." The orange reploid blushed audibly and sat down.

            "But he does have an important point. People all over the world began to create reploids. Eventually, some reploids encountered a software glitch that told them humans were unnecessary. It is because of this that the first Maverick Uprising occurred. It ended with X's triumph over Sigma and his legions. However, Sigma escaped oblivion and came back. A few years ago, a reploid by the name of Doctor Doppler found a way to immunize and cure reploids of the glitch that caused the Maverick bug. However, even this new wonder was eliminated, as Doctor Doppler himself became a Maverick." The room mumbled in low tones.

            "To date, there are no ways to prevent Maverick disease. That is why we must still rely on the Maverick Hunters to keep the world safe from this terrorist force." The lights came back on, and Cain smiled.

            "But you can't do that until you can fight. So my recruits, it's off to the training fields for you. Report to Sergeant Yadob for further instructions. Dismissed!" the room shuffled off, muttering to each other, glad to be free of the boredom of Dr. Cain. Just then, Cain's comm went off. Reaching down, Cain saw it was X.

            "Sir, can I see you for a moment?" X asked.

            "I just finished with my class. I'll be down in a minute, X. And please, don't eat my candy." The soft crunching sound on the other end ceased as X giggled in embarrassment.

            "So X, what did you want to see me about?" Cain asked as he hung his cane up on a wall hook. His office was clean, with pictures of his excavations on every side. His pet Goldfish, Sigma II swam around happily in the fishbowl made from Armored Armadillo's shell. X sat down and looked at Cain.

            "I was thinking, sir." Cain waved his hand.

            "Please don't call me sir. Call me Cain." X shrugged, being used to saying the formality.

            "I was thinking about Mavericks." Cain gave an 'ohh' of realization, then sat back in his comfy chair.

            "Why do we exist at all?" Cain stared at X as he said the question. "If Dr. Light feared that we might rebel, why did he build me? Didn't he see that by building me in the first place, the explosion of reploids would be inevitable?"

            "So you trouble yourself with that again." Cain sighed. "You still think that because you were the first of your kind, that you are to blame for all that has aspired?" X nodded. At times, he could be as wise as a sage, but at others he could be like a child, unknowing and doubting.

            "X, I don't know why Light created you. I don't know the reasons why. What I do know is this; the world is by far better than it would have been if reploids had not been made." X looked at Cain in amazement.

            "Why do you say that? Reploids become Mavericks! Do you know how many have suffered and died because of us?"

            "X, it was first thought that the Maverick bug was caused by code. But Doppler's downfall eliminated that option. Maverick Disease is caused by something far deeper, something not part of the robot inside of you." Cain emphasized the statement by pushing in X's chest.

            "I bet you don't remember X, but when I first found you, you had no personality. All you were equipped with was a bunch of data logs on manners! The first few days with you were quite boring, really." Cain chuckled. "But then something wonderful happened, X. _You learned. _Something inside of you turned on, and you began to analyze humans and your environment. Eventually, you understood our emotions quite well. After that, you acted as you do today. X, reploids not only have the ability to think, but also to learn. I believe Light's hope was that the path reploids took in life would help them to live it fully and to aid others. The Maverick bug, although I don't fully understand its causes, is something that corrupts that. A reploid is much like a child when it is activated. It knows only what is has been programmed with. Everything else follows because it learns. Much faster mind you than a child, but it's still the same process. And even humans can become corrupted. The only difference is your strength. Reploids because they are robots can go longer, faster, harder than any human could. But a being, be it human or reploid, is meaningless unless it knows how to help others and help the world." Cain's impressive monologue ended, and X felt better.

            "Doctor Cain, do you ever feel responsible for what happened?"

            "You mean, do I feel I am to blame for all the Maverick uprisings? Yes, and no. While I could have waited before releasing my discovery, or the blueprints which would have forced them to listen to my exact instructions, overall I would say that even if I had done those things there would have been some fool in the world who would have gone ahead and done what people did anyway. That's what I think, X." X and Cain ended their conversation, then X went over to check on the recruits at the target range.


	6. Whispered Future

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**CHAPTER FOUR: WHISPERED FUTURE**

            Zero had left Maverick Headquarters and now walked about New Tokyo. He wore a brown leather jacket and a large pair of pants. His hair, uncovered by his missing helmet, was still kept in a blond ponytail and was the only thing that anyone could have identified Zero with. By anyone's view, Zero was nothing more than a tall sixteen-year old with a blond ponytail. His arm cannon he had warped back to the HQ, but he kept his trusty saber with him just in case.

            Zero's beam saber had a short but well documented history behind it. It originally belonged to Sigma, but during the first Maverick Uprising, X had taken it from Sigma's fortress after his victory. X had then given it to Zero as a welcome back present after the second Maverick Uprising. Kept tucked safely in its sheath, it only added to Zero's mystique, giving him the appearance of very broad shoulders underneath the jacket.

            "Ahh." As much as Zero enjoyed the action of a fight, there were times he also felt the need to go out by himself and just walk around. New Tokyo was a bustling city, but the noise did not bother Zero in the least. He bought a hot dog at a street corner market, then ate it hungrily. Reploids really didn't need to eat; their regeneration chambers gave them a full energy boost. But living among humans does something to them. Reploids see, reploids do. Because of this, reploid's internal fusion reactors were designed to handle food. Zero smiled as he remembered the time he had challenged X to a pie-eating contest, and the two of them ended up short circuiting their voice simulators with the sugary filling. It took Cain hours to fix that error.

            Zero found himself in the Crystal Park. Crystal Park was a public facility where one could stand among bushes and scattered trees and look out to clear starry skies and a fantastic view of the sea. Zero and Iris had come here many times before the fourth uprising, and now Zero sat alone on the bench.

            He missed her terribly. He could still remember how the heat crept from her body as she faded off in his arms, battered beyond repair. She had smiled a weak, small smile, and then…died. Zero knew reploids didn't die, but because of Iris's ultimate destruction, it was just natural to say that.

            "Hey, buddy. What's wrong? You look down." Zero looked up to see a human boy looking at him in concern. Zero looked back down.

            "It's a girl, isn't it?" Zero nodded slowly. The boy sat down beside him on the bench. Far off, a seagull cawed as the waves washed ashore.

            "I was very close to her. And now she's dead." Zero was very blunt about things, even with all the emotions he had learned in his life. The boy nodded somberly.

            "I'm sorry. How did she die?" Zero thought for a moment, then said,

            "A reploid killed her." This was true, although Zero had skated the truth a bit. Iris had died by an explosion overhead, to which she was pushed into by their duel. It was like manslaughter. The boy nodded.

            "The Maverick Uprisings. I can imagine how it feels to lose someone so close to your heart like that. I lost my father during the first one. His car was blown up by a Bee Blader." The boy sobbed silently then pounded the armrest. Zero looked beside him for the first time, seeing how the boy was deeply affected by what he had said. Zero wanted to reach out and comfort him, but something kept drawing him back…Finally Zero spoke.

            "The pain hurts, doesn't it?" the boy nodded. "I suppose you never really get over losing somebody. Even I still miss her, and it's been two years." The boy nodded. Zero finally raised his hand and put it around the boy's back. "You just have to go on living. The person you lost would have wanted you to do so." The boy stopped sobbing and nodded, a smile slowly creeping back to his face. Zero smiled back.

            "It's been nice talking to you. But I have to go now." Zero stood up, then walked off. The boy suddenly was struck with a realization:

            "Hey! I never caught his name."

            The truth was Zero had no place in particular to go. He had just wanted to leave before the boy asked too many questions. Zero could pull off a reasonable impression of a human teenager, but after a while the tiresome process took hold and then he would be shunned or looked at coldly. Most people disliked or hated reploids because of the Maverick Uprisings.

            "Why do some people hate us, X?" Zero had asked X once. "I mean we're fighting the mavericks, not them. We're putting our lives on the line and all they can do is spit at us!" X had simply replied,

            "People fear us because we are different. Before reploids, there were simply robots who could only go as far as their programming allowed them to. To them, we are abominations, an interbreed of robot and humans. And there will always be people who fear and hate that which is different. It sucks to be human." Zero shook his head. Although X tended to be more of a philosopher, sometimes he could be so blatantly obvious and…well, HUMAN.

            Zero then switched back to another memory file. The one where he almost started kicking the crap out of a cluster of human boys. It was from three years ago, just before the third Maverick Uprising, but it was still clear as day. He and X were at the Tokyo mall, eating their hoagies in silence. Then they showed up. Zero had been watching them as they picked up their milkshakes from the shop, then stared at Zero and X in disgust. They spoke in whispers, but Zero's sensitive hearing had picked up every word.

            "Man, would you look at that? Now they're even EATING like us."

            "No kidding, man. Where do they get the gall to do that? This is just too outrageous." Zero's reploid blood had boiled, but X spoke without looking from his sandwich.

            "Calm down, Zero. They're just kids." Zero had grumbled a few curses, but had returned to his sandwich, tearing away at it.

            Then the boys had walked over. Zero saw them out of the corner of his eye. One nudged the others with his shoulder, and smiled cruelly. He whistled and walked by Zero casually, but then faked a fumble and spilled his milkshake all over Zero. The group laughed and pointed, and everyone in the mall looked. Zero could feel the hundreds of eyes boring into him with contempt and bemusement.

            "Whoops! Sorry about that. I just…slipped!" the boy laughed again, walking back to his friends and exchanging high fives. Zero's low growl turned into a louder one, and X looked at him.

            "Don't do it, Zero. Just leave them alone. Conflict will bring nothing but trouble. Let the lesser ones wallow in their shallow glory. If this was a battle, they'd be dead anyway." Zero somehow managed to hold a chord of self-restraint, even with all his anger welling up inside him, threatening to burst loose. But then the boy who spilled the milkshake spoke again.

            "Look at that! I found the perfect use for a reploid…a garbage can!" That was the final straw, and Zero screamed out in rage. Activating his dash boots, he boosted over and grabbed the hooligan by the arm. His eyes glowing red murder, Zero swung they boy around and sent him flying. The boy screamed in fear as he flew like an arrow at a robot trash container. He hit so hard, he made a dent. But Zero screamed again, and pulled out his beam saber. Turning it on, he activated a full blast from his boots, leaving scorch marks on the smooth granite floor as he sped over. He raised his left arm, ready to swing his blade of death down upon this whelp…

            But it shot out of his hand as a plasma blast jarred it loose. X had fired his cannon and disarmed Zero.

            "Zero! STOP!" X shouted, his cannon trained on Zero's chest. Zero paused, then the savage fury of hatred and scorn vanished away from him, leaving him with the full realization of what he had almost done. Gingerly he went over and placed his smoking saber back in its sheath. Then he turned and looked straight at the boy, whose eyes were wide open in pain and fear. Zero raised his hand and pointed.

            "Never do that again." Then Zero turned and walked out of the mall, with a flustered X at his side, leaving behind a ruined food court…

Zero brought himself back to reality as he continued back to Maverick HHQ. Remembering his troubled past and thinking of the future always drained him mentally. A recharge and a night in stasis would make him feel better. It was pitch black in the sky, for it was about 11:00 at night.

            Zero could never account for why he would suddenly turn into a savage beast whenever he was provoked beyond his temper. All he knew was that during those episodes, he could not break out of it by himself, and that it was like he had no control. He lost all extraneous functions, and saw things like a regular robot. There was his target, here were his surroundings, and here were his available weapons. For all purposes, when Zero entered a rage, he lost the part of him that was control and complex thought and emotion, leaving only the bitter and cold program of death in his head. It scared him. He had tried to control it in the past, but more often than not it worked both ways. During a heated maverick fight, his rages were intense and useful to destroy the threat, but during regular situations he became a menace to all around him. Zero stopped and put his hand to his head. All this thought was wearing him down more than he thought. He thought he was hearing voices.

            Zero's pulse quickened; he was hearing voices. Or more correctly, _a voice._

_            Zero._ The voice was strong and overwhelming. _Zero, come to me. _Zero shook his head. Maybe he was scanning a memory file again…_This is no memory, Zero. This is happening now. Come to me._ Zero shook his head again.

            "Computer, run self-diagnostic." Most likely some glitch. _I am no glitch, Zero. I am here, and as real as you are._ Zero became confused. Who was this…_Yes, Zero. I can read your thoughts. I am known to you. More correctly, I AM you. Zero, you have forgotten. Come to me, Zero. Come to me. Come to me…_

            Zero winced. The voice grew louder, and his head was beginning to throb. Zero began to quicken his pace, stepping into a brisk jog._ Zero, you cannot run from me! Zero, COME TO ME._ Zero screamed at the increase. Whoever this person was, it was sending telepathic messages. But telepathy was still myth and rumor. He had to get back to Maverick HHQ. Zero's jog turned into a desperate run, swinging violently back and forth, back and forth. He crashed into car doors, the sides of buildings, until finally he hit a lamppost and spun off dizzily.

            _Zero, there is nothing at your base that can help you. There is nothing for you there. I am your only friend, your only place left for you to turn to. Now, turn here. Down this alley._ Zero slowly turned. A part of him was cooperating with the voice's commands, but another part of him was trying to fight it.

            "I must…home…you…my enemy…" _I am not your enemy, I am your only friend. Now, TURN!!!_ The last of Zero's will vanished, and he went down the alleyway. Following the voice's instructions, he pulled out his saber and slashed the sewer grate open. He dropped down, then swan through the wastewater into a whirlpool. Dropping through, Zero leaped out into a large chamber with multi-connected pipes. Electrical wiring ran through the tunnels, but Zeros followed one of them. Zero had become a zombie, overwhelmed by the voice's presence. Finally, Zero with his last ounce of reserve stepped into the path of a bright light, then he slumped over and went into automatic stasis. And then a figure stepped forward into the light.


	7. A Familiar Disease

**__**

MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM

By Erico

****

CHAPTER FIVE: A FAMILIAR DISEASE

Zero groaned. How long had it been? Where was he? All he remembered was an evil presence that guided him…

He shot up, his eyes wide open. It was a dark room, but he lay on a cot. A bare lightbulb hung from a frayed wire casting shadows into the room. It all made sense now. Someone had managed to control his thoughts and body, bringing him through the sewers into this place…

"I see you're awake." Zero jerked his head to the side. There in the doorway stood a tall and massive figure. He stepped closer, one step at a time, in no real hurry. Slowly the light revealed him. Green armor, blue armbands, red boots, a red crystal embedded in his chest._ Sigma._

Zero jumped off the cot and reached for his beam saber, but his hand grasped empty air. And his arm cannon was still back at the Maverick HHQ.

"I assume you were grasping for this?" Sigma pulled out Zero's, or rather, _his_, beam saber and turned it on. The bright green beam of plasma contained in the field lit up the room a tad more. "You've kept it in good condition. I thank you." Zero glared at Sigma. In his current unarmed condition he stood little chance against this threat. Sigma chuckled as he put the saber back in the holder.

"Oh come now. I wouldn't bring you all the way here just to execute you, my friend."

"FRIEND? You're about as friendly as a pit bull!" Zero countered, keeping his eyes on Sigma's hand. "And if you didn't bring me here to destroy me, why then?" Sigma chuckled. 

"You're still blind to what destiny has foretold, eh? You always were stubborn. I know of your past, Zero. I know where you came from, and I know why. X even had some indication, but he never mentioned it to you! I blurted it out to him at the end of the Second Maverick Uprising!" these words hit Zero at home. He had never known his past, but somehow his dream's images seemed…familiar. But was he able to take Sigma on his word?

"I guess I have no choice." That's what Zero said, but he thought to himself of how he could take Sigma down later. Sigma's response was immediate.

"Oh, come now. I can read your mind. The link we share is very powerful. There will be no opportunity to destroy me, I have made sure of that." Zero finally realized the bleakness of his situation. He lowered his head and followed Sigma out of the door.

What was presented to Zero in the next room was amazing. Here, Sigma had rebuilt the maverick base. The main chamber held the communications center, with mavericks pouring in and out of tubes that connected to the interior. Sigma chuckled.

"Welcome, Zero. Welcome to my home." Zero glared. With all the mavericks around, any hostile action would be suicide. But still he wondered how Sigma had managed to live. After all, didn't X take him out in the Repliforce Space Station?

"Yes, he did. But just my body. I transmitted my data from my reploid control chip into this body. I have placed several like it everywhere in the world. Even if I am defeated, I can rise again to continue my mission. And now I am here." Zero to say the least was stunned. Now he believed without a doubt Sigma could read stray thoughts. He would have to do his best to quiet the storm in his mind. Sigma whistled, and eight mavericks stepped forth from the fury, lined up in perfect military fashion. Sigma motioned Zero toward them.

"Meet my newest controller mavericks. We are planning an invasion soon, and these will head the operation. Let me rattle them off, seeing as you have nothing else to do." The first one stepped forth, two capsules looking like batteries strapped to his thin but strong back. His eyes shot sparks, and his smile was positively electric.

"This is Megavolt Meerkat. I built him after Spark Mandrill. He has the same power, but his greater speed and smaller size will help him to avoid injury in battle. Megavolt, you will take platoon B and head to the World Power Plant." Megavolt nodded with a silly grin, then blasted off to a tube with such speed it left a shock wave of sound behind him. Zero stumbled back a few steps from the force. Then the next maverick stepped out.

"Zero, this is Fluid Ferret. Able to swim and channel water with his streamlined body and water condenser tanks, he will go to Tokyo's Water Refinery. Shutting down the water supply will turn a few heads, eh?" Sigma whistled then threw a piece of scrap metal at Fluid Ferret. The blue and brown bushy tailed midget jumped up and snatched the metal between his teeth, chewing and gnawing continuously. Sigma chuckled.

"Just like a real ferret. He never lets go. By the way Zero, that was a piece of TitaniTefloalloy there." Zero gasped. Even X's most advanced armor was made of the almost impenetrable substance. Should X face this demon, he wouldn't stand a chance. Fluid Ferret snarled then walked out to the same exit tube.

Over the next few minutes, the last six maverick masters were introduced. Pyrotech Python, Killer Koala, Strobe Stallion, Bladed Beaver, Airborne Albatross, and Nitro Narwhal(whose name Sigma explained was more of a joke than anything.) And it became increasingly clear to Zero how tough it would be to overcome the odds.

"Wait a second." Zero turned to Sigma and glared at him. "If I am being shown all this, and you're not going to destroy me, then why?" Sigma smiled. 

"Why Zero, I thought you would have figured it out by now! You're joining us!" Zero jumped away and growled.

"Never. I'll never join the mavericks. I am a maverick hunter." Sigma smiled that same smile of superiority that scared Zero.

"Oh come now. You are a Hunter, period. Besides, surely you've recognized a certain pattern of rage that takes over you…one in which you destroy everything?" Zero's jaw dropped. "It's quite common. Did you know for instance Zero, you carry the Maverick Virus inside of you?" Zero's jaw now went slack. Sigma laughed.

"Oh, you poor, poor fool! Progenitor to the Maverick Uprisings, and you didn't even know it! You infected me, and I went on my way. My, how destiny is an odd thing!" Sigma's mocking tone, combined with the new evidence was too much for Zero, and he dropped to his knees.

"But…how could I…" Sigma continued, interrupting the red hunter.

"You woke up in Maverick HHQ, but that was not where you were found. The two of us fought an intense battle, one in which that same unthinking rage of hunting was all you had. You lopped my arm off, but then something inside of you glitched. I took the opportunity, punched you in the forehead and breaking the protective crystal covering your control chip port. Unfortunately, not only did the strain cause you to go into stasis, but it also infected me in the process. You could say that the virus had been welling up inside you, and when I opened the exit for it, I became the host. Your maverick madness vanished, and you became the hunter you are today." Zero realized how true this all sounded.

"As a matter of fact, when we discovered you, you were in the excavated remains of a very prominent scientist many years ago. I assume you might have a slight indication of who I am referring to?" Zero's memory of his dreams flooded back, and the shadowy white haired figure emerged, his face hidden from view.

"That scientist created you with the sole purpose of destruction, to inflict pain and suffering unto all living things and robots. Your specific target…was X." Zero was now fully within Sigma's spell.

"Before we found you, the maverick bug was merely a few scattered reploids taking their new ideals to a far reaching extent. After your maverick virus spread, things became much worse. Your version of the maverick virus penetrated all systems, causing intense hatred to all things unlike other mavericks. I know what you're thinking…who would create such a deadly virus, with the express purpose of destroying X and all other things?" Sigma's question hung in the air, tormenting Zero. "Well, guess what, my red and yellow demon. Your creator was none other than the infamous and hated…Doctor William Wily." Zero's trance was broken, and he screamed out as he realized everything. For the first time, Zero's past was complete, but the past was a dark one. Sigma laughed. He pulled out a reploid anesthetic and injected it into the sobbing Zero's arm. Zero slumped, still shaking with his wracks of agony. Sigma smiled.

"Welcome home…father."


	8. A Missing Hunter

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**CHAPTER SIX: A MISSING HUNTER**

            It had been four days since Zero had left Maverick HHQ to contemplate. The immense time span worried X. Usually Zero would report in if he had gone missing. He lay back on his cot, scanning his Mega Man files via the overhead monitor. When X needed help, he would turn to his files. X longed to know his family. Mega Man, Doctor Light, Protoman…how come none of them existed anymore? Why had they left him to fend for himself, with no further assistance other than the capsules that did little except enhance his abilities? A reploid with beefed up armor is still just a reploid. X never received the concrete answers of his past he wanted. Just then, an alarm went off X shot up and clicked his helmet back into place, covering the thick bushy black hair. Oh well, contemplate later. Right now, the world needed him.

            "What's the situation, Doc?" X asked as he dashed into the control room. Cain turned about, his face covered in fear.

            "X, we have a new batch of mavericks taking over certain facilities all around the world. I'd wager that Sigma survived again." X frowned.

            "All right, what is this bunch doing?" Cain pushed a button on the console and a video clip popped up. People were running through the streets screaming.

            "This is New York City, Manhattan. Apparently one of the maverick clusters is making a path straight to Wall Street." X chuckled.

            "That's the first intelligent thing anyone's tried to do with that place." Cain barked out,

            "X, this is no time to crack jokes! Get out there and stop them before they harm any innocent people! And take the new squadron with you." X nodded. Shifting into the X1 armor he carried, he whistled to the squadron leader, Bastion, the orange reploid that had raised his hand in Cain's meeting.

            "Bastion, organize your troops and follow my warp trail. I'm on my way over." Bastion clicked his heels smartly.

            "Sir!" X nodded solemnly and phased into an intense array of blue light beams, which then shot up out of the roof and to the American coast.

            The idea behind 'warping' as it was called came to be during 20XX A.D. The ability to disassemble molecules of something, turn them into energy, then when they arrived at their destination shift them back into particles and rearrange them was something nobody before that would have thought possible. It wasn't as fast as a beam of light, but it wasn't as deadly. The particles only partially became light, for some had to be particles just to keep the whole mess together and give a coordination to the movement. Besides, light just shoots around aimlessly like a ricochet, and the weightier but less speedy particle transfer beam did just the opposite, functioning much like a laser beam, except it moved around the curve of the earth's surface.

            In any case, the total travel time for X was about ten minutes. To him it seemed like nothing, for his thought circuits had been for that period scrambled atoms. But he came to without a scratch, just in time to dodge a flying car that crashed into the side of a building.

            "Oh yeah, the fun's not far from here." X grumbled as he swept the dust off himself. Activating his boots, X dashed away into the streets.

            X stopped and peered around the corner. There a group of Bee Bladers and Ball De Voux were terrorizing the vehicles that were abandoned. Luckily, X noted, there were no people around as they were rampaging. That meant he could attack with no holdbacks. X slowly charged his arm cannon until it reached level four; a massive purple onslaught that sent a wave of plasma twice his height into the fray. If it failed, X had his backup fireballs, a special attack he could only do if he had full energy. X jumped out of the alley and onto the side of a building. He aimed for the highest Bee Blader and released the purple blast. It struck the Blader high up, sending the gyroscope out of whack and lopping off one of the props that kept it in the air. The Bee Blader plummeted, crushing a trio of Ball De Vouxs. But now they were all aware of X's presence. The Bee Bladers aimed their chainguns at him, and X dropped just in time to avoid being shredded by the depleted slugs. The building did not do so lucky, and a large chunk fell off, following X.

            X saw this and morphed into his Retribution armor. Things were getting intense, and he needed his air-dash boots now. The boots did the trick, hurtling X out of danger and right into the path of a Ball De Voux. Swiftly, X grabbed one of the spindly legs, swinging the nuisance around and hurling it at the last Bee Blader in the air. The shot struck, and the explosion created by the Voux's destruction also damaged the flying juggernaut. The Bee Blader crashed, turning into instant shrapnel which flew everywhere and sliced the remaining forces into scrap. X took a deep breath, something he didn't need to do, but had picked up as a habit. But the wait was too short, as a large explosion went off behind X, hurtling him through the air.

            X dashed into a stable fall and clung to another building wall. There on the opposite building rooftop stood a very angry and large maverick.

            "Well, who do we have here?" X jumped off the building and landed on the roof. The maverick was an imposing sight, with a slick black body, a large head and a very threatening horn. It looked like some kind of whale to X.

            The maverick blew his top, literally. His blowhole expelled some hot air from his systems and then he spoke.

            "Ar, me hearty. I see thou have defeated my front line troops. But ye won't be doing any jigs when I be through with ye! I be Nitro Narwhal, scourge of the seven silicon seas!" Nitro finished his speech by shooting his horn at X. X dodged, but turned to see the straight shaft explode on impact, destroying another wall of the building which the Blader had hit first. X glared at the new threat.

            "Har, har! You ain't got the sea legs to take me!" Nitro laughed, his arms supporting his body as he laughed vigorously. X calmly switched back to his Paladin armor, deciding to try his luck with the Hadouken fireball.

X growled and shot off his blue ultra shot. It hit Nitro's arm, shearing it off. Nitro harrumphed, then shot off a few more salvos of his horn explosive. X dodged the first two, but the last hit him head on, knocking off about a fifth of his shields.

            "Damn!" X shouted, realizing this guy meant business. And now he couldn't shoot his fireballs. Nitro laughed again as he charged X, trying to spear him with the horn. X dodged it by jumping high up and dashing to the side, releasing an uncharged shot at Nitro. But it deflected harmlessly off his thick shell.

            "Matey, you be walking the plank soon! This be no ordinary armor. This be TitaniTefloalloy!" X gasped. Only his most advanced armor was made of the revolutionary material. It was practically impervious to anything. X charged his cannon. _Oh well_, he thought. _If I'm gonna go down, it'll be hard_.

            Nitro shot off another shot. X dodged the projectile but the explosion caught him. X somehow managed to fire his shot, only charged to the third level. It was a brilliant blue ball with a flaring tail. It went straight at Nitro's foot. But the TitaniTefloalloy deflected it, right at Nitro's horn. It hit, causing it to explode. Nitro stumbled back a few steps, woozy from the blast. Worse, the armor covering his head had cracks in it. Angrily, his blowhole spouted more hot air as he charged at X.

            But now X knew what to do, and it made perfect sense! If Nitro's horns were made out of TitaniTefloalloy, they would never be able to explode on contact! The hard metal would prevent any disruptions. Therefore, his horn was the weak spot. Trying to hit it now that Nitro Narhwal knew what his plan was; well, that was a different ballgame!

            "Matey, you be like a barnacle-just a pain in the arse!" Nitro fumed. He charged X, but X dodged to the side again and fired off another shot. Nitro's horn exploded again and shattered off the tough shell helmet. Underneath was circuitry, and the horn generator which produced the exploding horns Nitro Narwhal used. Now Nitro was critically damaged, and he slumped to a knee.

            "You…you be a spunky one, matey." X growled.

            "All right, tell me. Who is running this operation? Who else is a part of this?" Nitro coughed, then smiled.

            "You won't be pumping any data from me, matey. I'm no common jungle squawker!" Nitro charged up and ran at X in a final desperate attack. X sighed, raised his arm cannon and fired the final blow. Nitro's circuitry overheated after the blast, and then he blew apart in a shower of sparks. X lowered his arm cannon and walked over to Nitro Narwhal's decapitated head. Touching it, X received the maverick weapon's blueprints. Instantly, X knew how to use this new weapon.

            "Well, let's see…how about I call this…the Narhwal Cannon?" X sighed. He hated to take away life, even if it was necessary. But he had known for a long time now it was kill or be killed. X's coloring had shifted into a blazing forest green with this weapon. Uncharged, the Narhwal Cannon would fire explosive shots. Charged, it would cause horns to pop out of X's frame, protecting him from physical attacks. The charged horns could also be fired at will after they were created. Just then, Bastion and his men warped down. Bastion looked at the battlefield. No matter how often commanders saw it, most could not believe a lone reploid could be such a devastating force. X walked over to Bastion and shifted back into his blue armor.

            "Commander, have your men scout the area for any scragglers. After that, begin reconstruction. This place needs it." Bastion nodded dazedly at his leader's calmness after such a fight. X closed his eyes and warped back to the HQ for repairs and to figure out where he needed to go next.


	9. Peril In the Park

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**CHAPTER SEVEN: PERIL IN THE PARK**

Zero awoke in his familiar prison; the dank room which he had first found himself. But he was weak, not from lack of power but from the effects of the anesthetic Sigma had slipped him with._ Sigma._

            Why had Sigma told him his origins? Zero now looked at himself as more of a curse than a blessing. Zero had taken a look at an old  datafile on Wily. Wily was an insidious man, gone crazy by a lab accident. Stealing Doctor Light's original robot masters, he went on a rampage across the globe, taking life and bringing only misery. Only Mega Man, X's ancestor was able to stop Wily, time and time again. Nothing good ever came from Doctor Wily's lab, not even Bass. And now Zero knew who he was.

            "Morning, my reploid prince." Zero jerked his head up, but almost fell back from the wooziness. It was Sigma again, smiling oddly at him. Zero turned away then managed to choke out a halfhearted,

            "What do you want?" Sigma turned the lights on, blinding Zero temporarily.

            "It's not what I want, Zero. It's what Wily wanted. For you to be an unstoppable killer. And now I am going to help you fulfill that role." Zero twirled around, his sickness gone. His eyes burned, and his voice was low.

            "Never." Sigma laughed.

            "Oh, but you don't have much of a choice now. Vile!!!" a familiar helmeted figure with a shoulder cannon and warp boots(able to let him shift from place to place without changing the direction he faced in) walked in the door and chuckled.

            "Hello, Zero." Sigma guffawed at Zero's confusion.

            "Oh, I had him rebuilt after the Doppler incident. I could have used him in the Repliforce takeover, but then he would have…gone up with the ship, I believe is the saying." Vile chuckled. He lowered his arm cannon and fired a restraining bolt of energy at Zero. It hit head on, and Zero found himself frozen to the spot. Sigma's smile vanished.

            "Take him to the training grounds."

            Meanwhile, X was running over the incident report back at Maverick HHQ. But somehow he couldn't focus. Zero's absence was worrying him profoundly. Zero had pulled stunts like this before(like when X poured chili pepper sauce down his beam saber shaft and shorted out the weapon for a week) but he had always come back a few days later. It had been a week, and still no sign of the red demon. Just then Cain walked in, hobbling on his stick. X looked up in surprise.

            "X, we have another confirmed maverick master sighting. It's over in the National Zoo of the Chinese Republics. It appears to be a gigantic koala form. Worse, he's sealed off the park and trapped at least fifty hostages according to our estimates." X slapped down the paper.

            "Boy, Doc. Its never a halfway with you. It's either all good, or all bad." Cain frowned. X liked to crack jokes in tense situations, and it bothered the serious man. Cain coughed loudly, then replied,

            "Well, get going. I suggest you put on your Retribution armor for this. Apparently, their forces are stronger than Nitro Narwhal's was. They're expecting you this time." X shrugged.

            "Hey, they can't all be stupid. See you, doc. If I make it back alive." X began to walk away, but Cain whistled loudly. Every reploid head in the building turned. Cain lowered his head, embarrassed, then tossed a sub-tank to X.

            "Just in case, X. You be careful." X smiled warmly at his mentor, then shifted into his Retribution armor. Then he turned and walked away, slowly fading away as he warped to his destination.

            X flashed into being right over the seal pond.

            "Woah!" he shouted, as he fell down into the shallow part of the pool. A loud splash could be heard, and seals barked noisily at their intruder, who sat on his butt, sopping wet and very disgruntled. One seal swam up to him and looked at him, twisting its head. X growled and scared the silky monster away. X walked out of the pond and jumped over the railing, drying himself of the last of the water.

            "Last time I just pop in the middle of things. Next time, I'll walk a freakin' mile to avoid getting wet." X grumbled. But then he heard screams far off. His humorous visage vanished as his arm cannons began to charge with plasma. The air around the end of his weapons glowed brightly. X had first found the ability to use two arm cannons in unison during the Second Maverick Uprising. One of the good Doctor's capsules provided him with a very useful tool, but like all his capsules, did not give X the basic knowledge of his family that he craved.

            X shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking of the past. The present was now, and people needed him to save the day.

            "Sometimes, X…" he muttered to himself. "Sometimes this is like a video game."

            X's Targeting Helmet located the captives quickly. They were being held in an underground bunker, and the bulk of the mavericks were above. This meant to save them, X would need to be silent as possible. Any plasma fire on his part would cause them to become aware of the situation, and it would take several rounds for his cannons to do the trick. X sighed and began to power down his shots.

            Then it hit him. X closed his eyes and activated his special weapons array. He armor turned a shade of forest green as the Narwhal Cannon activated. X's face was dead straight. He only got one shot at this. X charged himself slowly, not to make any noise and alert them. It took longer, but it was worth it. Then it completed the charge, and X became covered in a thick brush of deadly, explosive needles. X crept to the edge of the tree cover and focused his needles on the reploids standing and looking around carefully. X took a deep breath, then fired.

            The deadly shower of explosions wiped out all the forces, destroying many and causing others to shut down. But before the first needle exploded, X was back to plasma, charging the bunker with his dash. He swept down the stairs, only to be met with plasma fire.

            The underground mavericks had caught on. Normally, X would be seriously damaged by the attack, but in his explosive armor, he absorbed the plasma blasts without taking a hit. X smiled as he saw that the captives were cowering in a far corner of the room, away from the attackers. X activated his plasma cannon, drawing on the absorbed energy, then focusing it so the plasma would cut, not explode. Any concussion in the crowded and shielded interior would kill everyone. X fired his massive cutting arc, slicing the mavericks in half, and scouring the wall two feet above the prisoners. X sighed. He walked over to the group then smiled.

            "Hello, I am X from Maverick Hunter Headquarters. I am here to save you." X said politely in a calming voice of Chinese. The group stopped shaking as they realized they were out of danger. But X was not. There was still no sign of the controlling maverick, which meant X would now have his hands full. Anyone around for miles would have heard the intense battle. X took another breath, then spoke.

            "You stay here. It is not safe to leave yet." The group nodded, then X took off. X smiled. If he did manage to get the first shot, he could pull off his dragon punch.

X emerged from the bunker, fully charged and ready to fire. And he didn't have to wait long. The ground beside him suddenly became shredded as something with high velocity sliced it to ribbons. X dashed to the side and tried to get his bearings on where the shot came from. Then, a figure dropped to the ground, and stood up.

            He was not enormous, but he was not small, either. About a foot taller than X, the black with white spotted maverick could contend with many from the looks of it. He had big ears, powerful legs, and long arms with claws and some kind of shooter attached to them both. The maverick growled, baring white jagged teeth that looked as if they could sever X's head.

            "So, you're Mega Man X. I was alerted you were on the prowl. I'm Killer Koala." Koala's sentence was finished with a shot from his arm blaster. Out emerged a whistling, high velocity shaped piece of metal. X dashed back, just barely avoiding the shot.

            "That was a piece of TitaniTefloalloy in the shape of a eucalyptus leaf. Even koalas get hungry." Killer joked as he fired another shot. X dodged that one too, but Killer Koala was charging him, his slashing claw upraised and ready to disembowel X. X dashed into the air, trying to avoid the slash, but Killer jumped up as well, towering over X's frame.

            "Uh-uh. No running, pal. You're mine." Killer smiled as he stretched back his arm. X closed his eyes and let loose with a powerful dragon punch he had attained from one of the doctor's secret capsules. Instantly, his fist burned intensely and he shot up, catching Killer Koala squarely on the jaw with the uppercut. Both fell to the ground, but X landed on his feet. Killer Koala was severely damaged from the attack, his fur was singed and X could see sparks shooting from the circuitry underneath.

            "I guess I wasn't running, eh?" X harrumphed, charging both his arm cannons. Killer Koala growled, but it turned into a scream. Raising both hands, he fired a salvo of metallic slicers. X was unprepared, and the attack caught him. Not all the slicers hit, but X was now leaking reploid blood from his wounds, and losing energy fast.

            "Ha! Let's see you pull off that fancy punch now, hot stuff!" X tried to keep his footing, but it was tough going, his energy was down to 20%. Killer smiled, then walked slowly over to X to deliver the final blow. X couldn't believe it. He had been in scrapes before, but this was one of the tougher ones. Even when he had been trashed by Vile, Zero came along and overloaded the walker, giving X enough time to take the paralyzing energy and turn it into systems energy.

            _Systems energy!_ It hit X. He had a sub-tank loaded in his chest compartment. All he needed to do was access it, and he could be at full power again. It just meant he only got one shot at taking Koala down, while the maverick thought X was helpless. X selected Narwhal Cannon from his special weapons array, and waited.

            Killer Koala saw X's color change, unaware of the consequences.

            "Hey, X! You're really sick, huh? Now you're even turning green!" X kept the same look of helplessness on his face, waiting as the sub-tank filled his body with the required energy. Then, it completed the transfer. X smiled as he looked at Koala, a mere ten feet away. Koala looked back in befuddlement. X was going to die, so why was he smiling? X shot his arm cannon up, then fired an explosive needle at the ground underneath Killer Koala. The blast didn't harm the maverick's thick hide, but the explosion shot him in the air, defenseless and hanging like a piñata. X switched back to normal and dashed to Killer's position. He leaped into the air and screamed with intense rage as his dragon punch sent him straight up. The massive blow punched a hole in Killer Koala's stomach. The maverick collapsed to the ground, weakened and only a few cycles short of shut down.

            X walked over from his landing position and picked up Killer Koala, whose arms hung loosely at his sides.

            "All right, pal. I wanna know why you're doing this. What's Sigma's game this time?" Killer laughed softly, coughing as he spurted reploid blood over X's face.

            "You think you're good? Just wait until Sigma is done with Zero…" X's face turned to surprise.

            "Zero??? What is Sigma doing with Zero? What is happening to Zero?" but before Killer Koala could answer, he shut down. X exploded.

            "NO!!!" X threw the hollow shell into the air and fired a huge plasma blast. The sky lit up intensely as the maverick's parts fell to the ground, singed and melted. X walked over to an arm and activated his weapons array. An icon appeared on his menu; Koala Slash. X walked away, his battling emotions fighting each other in his body. X began to warp back to base, but he managed to utter one sentence;

            "Zero, where are you?"


	10. The Flames of Hatred

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**CHAPTER EIGHT: THE FLAMES OF HATRED**

X wandered about New Tokyo, his mind in a daze. Somehow, Zero was with the mavericks. And worse, they were doing something to him. To all outward appearances, X looked like an ordinary fourteen year old. Underneath his Trenchcoat was his normal armor. The only thing he wore was his dash boots, just because he was so used to them.

            X was so lost in his mind about Zero, he bumped into a young man, obviously drunk.

            "Hey!! You better watch (hic) where you're going, boy!" the man drawled. X frowned and moved away from the man. Dr. Cain always told X how human he was turning. Reploids usually didn't walk into people, for their higher computing power prevented such occurrences. But somehow, X had just done something…human.

            X shook his head. Maybe a trip to the theater would help. But then a scream broke his trance. X glanced around. No one else was nearby. X wandered over to where the sound was coming from, a dark alley.

            In it was a woman fighting for her purse, while four men, well built tried to twist it from her hands. X continued to look and realized that from the looks of things, they had been taking huge doses of supersteroids, a refined version of the natural testosterone booster banned from all athletic sports some time ago. Available only on the black market, it could give a person ten times their natural strength. X glared at them. The habit was even more addictive than nicotine, a drug long since made illegal, and it cost lots of creds to keep the drugs flowing. X managed to smile on top of all that was happening. Sometimes it amazed him how little things had changed, from the old digital movies and archives. People still got mugged. X shook his head and walked over to the group.

            "HEY!" X shouted, loud enough so that it even was heard over the woman's scuffling. The men looked over at him, a mere boy with short black hair, cloaked in a bulky coat.

            "Beat it, shrimp. This doesn't concern you!" one of the four shouted, growling and pumping a fist, his arms bulging at the mere gesture. X remained quiet, then walked over and plucked the woman from them and walked her over from them. A rough hand grabbed his shoulder, turning him around, until another hand clenched in a fist shot like a cannon and sent him flying into the side of dumpster. X crumpled, his neuro-receptors telling him he had taken a pretty light blow.

            "I told you, BACK OFF!! Now get outta here before I REALLY hurt you!" the man bellowed. The others laughed, and continued to search the woman for any valuables.

            "Gosh, you're a cutie. Maybe we should take her home, eh boys?" one of them, with a spiky green mohawk giggled. The woman's eyes filled with fear, and X could take it no longer. Jumping up from his perch, he ran over to the closest one and sent a powerful uppercut to the man. It lifted him off the ground about an inch. The man grunted.

            "Hey boys! This one got spunk!" X's eyes widened with surprise. A blow like that would be enough to snap somebody's neck. But then again, these were pumped up freaks. The man grabbed X and flung him against the stone wall, holding onto him all the time, applying maximum force. X broke through the wall, his trenchcoat turned to ribbons by the rubble. The man laughed.

            "I think I bwoke his wittle arm!" the others chuckled. But then the rubble inside moved, and a figure stood up. The man turned back and looked on in surprise. X dashed out, his boot thrusters charring the mortar. X plucked the man by his collar and jumped up, effectively crunching the man between a rock and a hard place.(some people in Japan called him Rockman X, due to his obvious relation with his predecessor) the others gasped, now fully realizing that what they faced was no boy, but a reploid, and a fierce one at that. With their leader crumpled, a rib broken from his wounds, the others ran off. The woman shook convulsively, and X walked over to her.

            "Are you all right, ma'am?" X asked, his face smiling, even though a flap of his synth skin dangled loosely, revealing the metallic framework underneath. The woman did not answer; she just stared in fear. X's smile vanished.

            No matter how many times some people saw reploids, they viewed them as abominations, vile demons. Zero had ran into this problem, and now X was faced with it, in the form of this frightened woman.

            Just then, his commlink clicked on.

            "Commander X, this is Cain. Report to Maverick HHQ immediately. We've received an emergency distress call from the Hawaiian Volcanic Geothermal Plant." X clicked it off, then shut his eyes as he warped back to home.

            While X faced the problem of a street gang, Zero had a more difficult task in front of him. For two days straight Sigma had sent in maverick after loyal maverick, each with only one thing on their mind; kill Zero. Sigma knew that Zero would overcome them, but the process was long. Vile walked up to him and stared through the one-sided glass. Zero was facing the reconstructed Chill Penguin. Chill slid across the floor, and Zero narrowly dodged the attack by grabbing the wall. Zero dropped down, his boot ready to slam into Chill's face. But Chill saw the attack coming and blew out a potent breath of humidified air, that crystallized instantly, forming an ice shoe around Zero's leg. Zero fell to the ground, held down by his chain. Chill quacked in joy as he blew out more freeze breath and encased the red demon in a casket of ice. Vile gasped, and looked closer. But Sigma smiled and held his commander back.

            "Wait for it." And true enough as Sigma predicted, Zero's boot thrusters turned on, melting away the ice by his feet. Chill was merrily doing a jig, being one of the members on the maverick riverdance team, so he did not notice the event. Eventually, enough ice melted so that the thrusters provided motion, moving the iceberg forward, then hurtling itself at the maverick.

            When Zero hit Chill Penguin, it sent Chill slamming against the wall, and shattered his prison. Zero shook the ice crystals out of his hair and looked around dizzily. He was down to 20% operating power, and sorely needed to go into stasis mode for a while. Chill turned around and growled, charging at Zero once more with his slide technique. But Zero looked down and picked up the sharpest shard of ice he could find. When Chill got close enough, Zero dashed to the side and jammed the shard in Chill's back. Chill's system shorted out from the water, not to mention Zero's strength had severed the critical reploid arteries in Chill. Chill gurgled purple fluid from his beak as he slammed into a wall headfirst, then spun off, a motionless shell. Vile nodded in approval. Sigma looked on in earnestness. Zero shook his head, screaming for a while.

            Something inside of him was trying to take over. It was familiar, but it was evil. And if Sigma was telling the truth, Zero knew it was the Maverick Virus trying to re-establish itself in Zero's main databanks. Zero shook it off, but every time it got more powerful, more insistent. Each time, his memory jarred him back to his senses by remembering Iris. And as he grew weaker, it became more and more difficult to prevent it. Still, Zero got up and stared grimly at the black window that stared at him. He knew Sigma was behind it.

            "I will not yield, Sigma. DO YOU HEAR ME!?!" Sigma reached over and flipped the mike switch.

            "You will join us, Zero. You will. Just give it time." He turned the mike off.

            "Are you sure this will work, boss?" Vile asked. Sigma nodded solemnly.

            "No reploid, no matter how strong, can resist the maverick virus for long. Look at me. I was the strongest, and it took me in time. He WILL join us, Vile. He will. It's only a matter of time."

            X walked into the main room of Maverick HHQ and looked around. Everywhere was a flurry of activity, with reploids running in every direction, commlinks blirping on and off, and there shouting the loudest was Doctor Cain, a vein on his forehead bulging. X ran over to the doctor, his face covered in amusement.

            "Ehh, what's up doc?" Cain smacked X on the head with his walking stick. "Oww!" X shouted as he rubbed his helmet. Even if he didn't take any damage, it still hurt. Cain frowned at him.

            "X, you pick the worst times to be funny. Listen up. I already told you that the Hawaiian Geothermal Energy Plant had been taken over. It just got worse. The reploid in charge calls himself 'Pyrotech Python' and he's threatening to let the whole thing blow up." X raised an eyebrow.

            "Can he do that?" Cain nodded, clicking on a console button. A map of the plant complex popped onscreen. Cain pointed to a blinking light by a big pipe.

            "That X, is the main pipeline. Cold water goes down, hot steam comes up. The hot steam becomes water after turning the turbines above, then is pumped back down for another go. This blinker right here is a high-pressure explosive. It is estimated its total life is now at about three hours. If it is not disarmed in that amount of time, it will detonate and destroy the pipeline. When that happens, the controlled reaction disappears and we get instant geothermic shock. When THAT happens…" the image turned into a map of Hawaii and a few hundred miles of water. "When that happens, the tectonic plate will tear apart and pour hot lava out of the volcano. Now that normally wouldn't be a problem, being as Hawaii is constant with volcanic activity, but the bright bulb who built the plant also had backup Plutonium stores in case it failed. When the lava hits those stores in the complex, it will release a cloud of radioactivity, obliterating the upper atmosphere and ionizing everything within a 1000 mile radius. Since we don't know where the Plutonium stores are, we can only disarm the bomb." Cain turned it off and looked at X intently.

            "Listen X. This is one mission we can't afford to goof up on. DAMNIT!!! Where the HELL is Zero?" X shook Cain back out of his maddened state.

            "THE MAVERICKS HAVE HIM." The statement surprised Cain immensely, and he stumbled back into his chair. Cain pulled over his walking stick and whistled, quieting the room down.

            "Very well then. We'll deal with one crisis at a time. Right now X, you take Bastion and head for that plant! Bastion can disarm the explosive while you find this 'Python' fellow and eliminate the threat. And take your Force armor set. I have a feeling the hover capability might be of some use." Bastion ran up next to X in a rampage of orange armor and saluted X. X took a breath and phased into his dark bluish/purple armor, then warped off to the plant, with Bastion's orange trail following him like a vapor.

            When X arrived, it was not on solid ground, but instead in a deep ocean. X struggled to reach the surface, and then when he did he was suddenly bogged down by a sputtering and soaking Bastion.

            "Hey! Hold on, will ya?" X grumbled, clicking his hover boots on. Instantly, he was floating two feet above the waves, with Bastion holding on for dear life. Bastion spat out some water and pulled a fish off his intake, then smiled.

            "Thanks, commander. I wish I had spiffy stuff like you did." X looked ahead, where there stood the Geothermal Plant, placed deep inside the volcano. The smoke that emerged was leftover steam, not the actual fumes of the peak. Pyrotech Python must have placed an ion shield around the complex. Smart move, as it prevented rapid warp-ins. Scattered particles, like a warped substance could not penetrate the shield. A lot like those little holes in a microwave that let you see in, but stop microwaves from blowing up your head. X looked down at Bastion and smacked him on the head. This was necessary, as the noise made by the surf and the hover thrusters stopped normal communication. Bastion looked up and X mouthed out his sentence.

            "You disarm the bomb. I'll deal with Pyrotech Python." Bastion nodded, then replied,

            "But what if this boss maverick is guarding the bomb?" X thought for a while, then shook his head. For once, X was out of ideas. Maybe it would come to him when they hit the shore. Just then, a warning beep went off on his cannon. X looked down to look at his fuel gauge. It was about empty. X struck Bastion on the head and shouted,

            "Hold on!" Bastion grabbed even tighter, climbing up until he was riding piggyback on X. The booster fuel ran out, and X began to drop. Just as he hit the surface, X activated his basic thrusters. The question was, would they make it to the beach? X could withstand the water, but Bastion was not so well built. The both of them shot off towards the island, skimming the water, vaporizing the surface. X could feel the thrust decrease, then he took what little power was left and jumped up. Usually X could clear thirty feet during a thrust jump, but X could tell he had at least another fifty to go. Then an idea hit him. Focusing for a moment, he activated his weapons array and selected the Narwhal Cannon. Bastion's eyes grew wide as he saw the surface fast approaching. But X fired a shot, and when it hit the water, it let loose with a mighty concussion. Enough of one so that X and Bastion were hurtled through the air the remaining distance.

            While X landed safely on the beach, finishing with a roll, Bastion was flung off of X and smashed into a palm tree. It was a bio-mechanical one, but still it released a few coconuts, pounding Bastion's head in a way you would usually see in a cartoon. X got up and walked over to Bastion.

            "Come on, Bastion. We don't have much time left!"

            X ran into the building, his X-Buster fully charged. Although he could have chosen the plasma extension, which would harm armored targets, he had chosen the stock function for this mission. That meant he could release four fully charged plasma blasts before recharging. All Bastion had was a basic Buster, based on X's original design. But in any case, the both of them were ready for any attack.

            And it seemed life would deal them just what they had been dreading. From the ceiling porthole above came dark flying probes, probes which would have, under normal operating conditions maintain the facility. Now they came armed with plasma torches, which had shorter range, but were extremely deadly. X frowned, as he had seen similar makes before.

            "Watch your head, Bastion!" X shouted to his orange companion. Bastion ducked just as a sweeping shower of sparks skimmed the air where he had just been standing. Bastion rolled to his side and focused in on the opposing probe above. He squeezed off his shot, and the probe exploded, the loose pieces falling harmlessly to the ground. X meanwhile had been dashing to one of the tunnels. The probes were still pouring out, and things were getting cramped in the facility's welcome area. X raised his cannon as he leaped upwards and popped off a stock shot, which flew up the tunnel and apparently exploded with the remaining droids. The effect was immediate, as the tunnels acted as dampening agents, shaping the chain reaction of explosions upwards and downwards in a powerful pillar of destruction. All the other tunnels in the room blew flames out of them as well, and X knew he had effectively destroyed the probe hangars above, as well as any other oncoming probes. Bastion picked off the last probe with an uncharged blast, that struck it lazily on the side, spinning the droid out of control ands into a wall, where it left a charred mark. X recharged his cannon to full stock and walked over to Bastion.

            "They got this place well guarded, sir. It might take my entire squadron to eliminate the entire threat." Bastion told X as he wiped probe parts from his intake. X nodded.

            "Sadly Captain, we lack the time to do such a thing. Besides, the ion shield would prevent warp-ins as you remember." Bastion suddenly smiled widely. Pulling his Buster up, he walked over to a console and drew up the plant blueprints.

            "There!" Bastion announced confidently. X squinted and looked at the screen confusedly. Bastion continued, unaware of X's befuddlement. "Sir, the ion shield is being run there. It's drawing power from the main system. If I can get there, I can disable the shield and warp in my troops!" the idea hit X head-on. The plan was so simplistic, it had to work. X patted Bastion on the back.

            "Can you get there, Captain?" Bastion nodded.

            "It'll probably be guarded, but if I'm careful I should be able to do it. If I run into the boss maverick, it'll be over pretty quick." X started to run away, to the original location.

            "I'll attach a PTU to the bomb. When you get that shield disabled, WARP IT THE HELL OUT OF HERE. I'm pretty sure Pyrotech Python will be guarding the bomb, not the shield generator. I don't think anybody was bright enough to realize that possibility."

            "And if I fail, sir?" Bastion asked, fear in his voice. X turned around, a tired look of desperation on his brow.

            "Don't."

            X dashed madly through the halls, pausing only to recharge his Buster and check his map. In this labyrinth of tunnels and control rooms, there was no room for error. According to his clock, he only had another twenty minutes before the bomb went off, taking the facility, the atmosphere, and him, with it. And he still had another two hundred feet to go before he reached the bomb, placed strategically by the main pipeline. And he was in a lunchroom. X was jolted back to reality as a vending machine next to him became scorched by a heavy plasma blow. Ahead was a menacing walker, with an unhappy maverick at the controls. X growled and rolled under a table. It wouldn't buy him much time, but just enough to charge the Giga Attack. The walker pounded the floor as the hydraulic legs went up and down, pumped by the raw power of its ancient but still effective engine. The attached beam saber on the mech's left arm turned on and sliced the table in half, then the blade came back for a second destructive swipe at X. but the walker never managed to even begin the hacking swing, as X charged out of his hiding place, screaming like a madman as the Giga Attack unleashed him, dashing forward like an insane fool. The Giga Attack was designed by Doctor Light, with the instructions placed carefully in a capsule X found during the Repliforce Uprising. With it, X became invincible, able to plow through anything for a short period of time. The only downside was the immense amount of time it took to charge the necessary components.

            X burst through the walker's back and continued to dash down the halls, his frame already building up a second. Behind him, X could hear the loud crash as the disabled walker, torn to pieces fell to the ground as scrap metal.

            Bastion was having no better luck, but he had a shorter distance to go. Only fifty feet stood between him and his goal, but then again he had more to deal with. Fast flying probes made several runs over his position, while floor drones designed to walk along and then self-destruct scurried along. In short, the flyers were keeping him pinned until the drones could fulfill their objective. Bastion checked his systems; twenty percent damage, and several microfractures.

            "GODDAMNIT!!!" Bastion cursed. He had had enough. Bastion leaped out from his foxnest and dashed toward the waiting drones. He fired off his shot directly parallel to the ground. The massive energy wave annihilated the floor critters, and the explosions from that were enough to destabilize the gyros on the probes. But he still had a few probes to go. An idea hit him, and so Bastion dashed up onto the walls. He grabbed one by the thrusters. The probe's immediate response was to activate its plasma cutter, but Bastion had been expecting this.

            "All right you little gnats. Let's see how YOU like it!" Bastion muttered. He jumped off the wall, and using the probe like a beam saber slashed them all into scrap. With a final shot from his cannon, he destroyed the one in his hand. Bastion sighed, and walked down the hall to the room with the shield generator.

            The generator glowed brightly, and Bastion walked over to the back. He smiled, then he pulled the plug. The effect was immediate, and the humming noise wound down, much like an old air raid siren. Then there was silence. Bastion walked over to the console in the room and turned it on.

            "Computer, scan for PTU signatures." PTU's were short for Personal Transport Units. You simply clipped it onto something and it would warp it to anywhere you desired. The computer responded with a simple placid male voice.

            "No signatures found. Be advised, warp outs are not possible at this timetimetime…" Bastion blinked. He had just turned off the shield generator, so it should work. Any why did the computer screen look so distorted?

            "Computer, explain."

            "Gamma radiation emissions in the vicinity shortshortshort circuiting transport software." Bastion blinked again.

            "Identify location origin of gamma radiation."

            "Twentwentwenty feet behind you." Bastion turned, a thought forming in his mind, but he couldn't realize it. It couldn't be…

            It could.

            "HOLY…!!!" Bastion gasped as he opened the closet door. There, packed carefully in crates was the Plutonium. So that's what was happening. The gamma radiation was disrupting the computer. So he had to get rid of it.

            Bastion reached in his chest compartment and pulled out another PTU. Quickly, he dialed in coordinates that were familiar to him. He placed it on the top crate and set the transfer radius to three meters. Then he clicked the ten second fuse and dashed back. No way in hell he wanted to go where this stuff was headed. The timer beeped, then the air distorted as the plutonium, crates and all vanished in a beam of particles and light. Bastion smiled, then walked back to the console.

            "Computer, locate the main thermal pipeline." Instantly, the screen gave him directions to where he needed to go. Bastion logged it into his memory banks, then tore down out of the exit. X was going to need help.

            X finally arrived at the main shaft with the pipeline. The shaft only had about ten feet of clearance space around the main pipeline. X took a breath, then jumped on the side and began his slow slide down the shaft to the bomb. Total time left before the explosion; five minutes.

            His internal conditions sensor started to send droning signals to his helmet. X smacked himself on the side of the head, and a screen popped up in a corner of his eye. Thermal readings in the sector were off sky high, which meant X was slowly being drained of energy needed to maintain optimal temperature.

            "Crap." Was all X said, in a dry and droning voice. This meant two things to him. One, he would be low on energy when he ran into Pyrotech Python; and two, he might shut down before he even reached the bomb. X could withstand minor extremes, but this pushed his endurance to new levels. For once, X wondered if he should have worn his Golden Hyper Armor. The super helmet would have recharged his energy to max within seconds, making up for any losses sustained during the trip.

            "What the hell." X muttered, leaping lightly off the surface and dropping. This would get him there quicker, he just hoped he'd survive the landing. The wall vanished in front of his face, and instead X saw an open room. With not a moment to spare, X activated his hover boots, which had been recharged since his beach excursion. But his velocity was intense, and soon X found himself expending all his hover fuel just trying to slow himself down.

            "Come on…" X pleaded with his feet, as he braced for impact. But it never happened. His fuel ran dry just as his toe touched the cement. X rolled away from the pipeline and examined his energy. He was down to 75%.

            "Not good. Not good." X grumbled. But then the sound of an incoming transmission shut him up. X rolled underneath a table and crouched. Someone was going to answer that, and he didn't want to be seen. A rattling sound filled the wide room, and X realized two things. One, he was in a loading dock and two, Pyrotech Python himself was slithering onto the scene. A dense mass of coils, colored red and metallic gray, slipped into the room. Pyrotech Python was long, but his height was less than that of X. Still, X knew that were they to fight, it would be intense and one sided. And X was going to try his hardest to avoid that. Pyro clicked on the viewscreen, and standing there was Vile, in all his masked darkness.

            "SSSssss. Vile, itssss ssoooo good to ssseee you."

            "Quiet, snakeboy. Listen up. Sigma wants to know how things are going."

            "Thingssss are running smoothly. The bomb isss placed, and I will be warping out of here sssoon."

            "I'm afraid that will be impossible, my friend." Vile chuckled, in such a dark manner, even X shuddered, safe in his hiding place.

            "What do you mean, Vile?"

            "I mean this, stupid. I placed a man down there who set up an ionic shield. Nobody can warp in…and nobody can warp out." Pyrotech Python quaked in anger and fear.

            "Why?" Vile laughed.

            "Come on, now. You know as well as I do you've been sucking up to the boss. That's my turf, pal. And because of this, you must die." Pyrotech got so angry, his tail knocked over a pack of crates by X.

            "How dare you! I will disarm the bomb!" Vile laughed again.

            "I'm not your average maverick, Pyrotech. When I shoot somebody in the back, I eliminate all areas of escape. That bomb CAN'T be turned off. And here's another thing. Even if you DID manage to find the shield generator in time, that puppy has its own personal ionic shield. You can't warp it away. And because it is welded to the pipe with TitaniTefloalloy, there's no way in hell you can pry it off!" Pyrotech Python screamed and writhed in anger, smashing the screen to bits, while X suddenly realized how grim the situation was. Even if he could attach the PTU to the bomb, it would take the pipe's side with it. Of course, he couldn't even do that.

            "Hey, boss dude! EAT PLASMA!!!" a voice rang out, boldly and a bit awkwardly. X looked up in surprise to see a war-crazy Bastion jump down from a tube above, while firing off his cannon wildly. Pyrotech Python turned swiftly, murder in his eyes.

            It is said that a cornered animal shifts into a wild beast, a creature which follows the basic instruction instilled in them since birth; SURVIVE. With reploids, it is no different. And now Bastion was crazy enough to mess with the very thing that X had emphasized time and time again to avoid. A crazy maverick that has realized it's going to be destroyed. Pyrotech Python took the hits, and screamed out in pain. But then his tail shot up and wrapped around Bastion, squeezing him tightly and bringing him down to Pyro's level. The snake beast's eyes glinted with anger as he opened his jaws.

            "Pathetic whelp! Now, taste REAL firepower!!!" X finally realized he could hold on no longer. Dashing from underneath the table, he shut his eyes and activated the Giga Attack. A blazing light surrounded him once more, and his dash boots shot out more flames than had been expelled in the last hour. X covered his head with his arm, and plowed straight through Pyrotech's lower tail, slicing it clean off and freeing Bastion from the death grip. While Pyrotech screamed out, firing his massive flames wave towards the ceiling as he fell backwards, X was beading his Buster, and squeezing off super shot after super shot. All in all, Pyrotech Python was dead before he hit the ground, and he exploded, the flammable liquids inside of him ignited by the onslaught. Pieces of reploid snake flew everywhere, and X stood back. He took a moment and looked at his clock: Ten seconds. He turned to Bastion, and smiled.

            "Well, Bastion. It's been nice working with you." Bastion gave smile of superiority, then dashed over to X, grabbing him tightly.

            "It ain't over yet, sir. Just hold on!" Bastion shut his eyes, and then everything became a blur.

            Then it became clear again, only now they were on a small island a few miles from the plant. X looked in surprise and horror as he mountain facility blew up, releasing billowing waves of smoke and steam into the air. He turned to Bastion and stared for a moment. Bastion beamed proudly and began to speak.

            "While you were doing who knows what, I disabled the shield generator. And guess what I found by it?" X looked on, wondering why Bastion could be so happy when the earth's environment was being poisoned as they spoke.

            "I found that batch of Plutonium. I used a PTU on the whole mess and warped it to the sun's orbit. It'll be drawn in and put into the fusion process." X sighed as the new facts calmed him. Then he frowned.

            "Where'd you get a PTU that had coordinates for the sun's orbit?" Bastion's smile vanished, and he looked down, shifting his eyes.

            "Well, promise you won't tell anyone, but a buddy of mine and I took it from the depot at Maverick HHQ. We were thinking, what would be the craziest place to warp something? I came up with the sun. I was holding onto it when you volunteered me for this mission." X laughed, a pure laugh that he had not had for some time. X slapped Bastion on the back, and something clinked off X, making a loud noise as it hit stone beneath them. Bastion looked down in surprise and picked it up. It was a piece of Pyrotech's head.

            "Well, well. It seems our friend left us a momento." X grabbed it, then used his weapons array to download his new device; the Dante's Inferno. Bastion looked on in awe.

            "Damn, I wish I could do that. What did you just do, commander?" X smiled as he shifted into his new red coloring.

            "I just obtained the ability to create a Dante's Inferno." Bastion and X walked down the island bluff to a small town below. There, they could recharge and give a full report.

            "Hey, how'd you learn those sweet shooting techniques, sir?" Bastion asked. X chuckled and shifted back into his regular X4 armor.

            "Practice. When we get back to Maverick HHQ, I'll take you to the training deck and show you. In the mean time, RACE YOU!!!" X took off, his dash boots leaving behind flattened grass. Bastion smiled.

            "You wish, commander! I'M the hot rod in this outfit!" with that, Bastion and X, the saviors of earth on that day sped their way into the dim glow of night, and the promise of a new, fresh day ahead.

            Sigma walked up behind Vile, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. Vile looked up, then grudgingly gave a salute.

            "What's the progress on Pyrotech and his group?" Sigma asked. Inside his helmet, Vile gave grin of pure evil, but from the outside no one could tell.

            "It seems X showed up and destroyed them all. The bomb exploded, though. I'd wager our blue friend escaped, though." Vile sounded sad, but Sigma knew Vile by now. Sigma picked up Vile roughly, much like one would with a sack of potatoes.

            "You listen up, Vile. I'm sick and tired of your crap, and so is everyone else. So shape up, and don't lie. GOT IT?!" Vile gulped, and weakly nodded. Sigma put a smile back on and dropped Vile to the floor. Then he walked to his quarters.

            "It's only a matter of time now." Sigma chuckled crazily. "One way or another, it will end."


	11. Creatures Of The Waves

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**CHAPTER NINE: CREATURES OF THE WAVES**

When X and Bastion returned to Maverick HHQ, there was great celebration. Although they had not been able to avert the explosion at the Hawaiian Volcanic Geothermal Plant, thanks to Bastion's great thinking they had nonetheless averted the nuclear disaster, and now three maverick generals were out of the picture. But still, X could not stay in stasis. He worried about Zero. Often, X would wander the city streets at night, cloaked by the darkness and cloaked by his emotions. Not even his mountain ledge, a place where nature grew fruitfully, held any tranquility for him. In a way, it was like X had lost his brother. For as long as they had been together, they shared an intense bond, two individuals in a world gone crazy, with only themselves to rely on. It was one of those nights again, and X's legs dangled off the side of the cliff. An owl hooted above him, and the stars twinkled, but X did not see that. All he could see in the stars was the figure of Zero, a proud, tall figure, with a smile too large to look at.

            "Zero…"X muttered. "Zero, where are you?"

            Little could X know where Zero was, or what he was doing. The crafty reploid had faked stasis, which was not hard for his weary condition. Then when the guards left to partake of the maverick's pub, Zero had quietly slipped out, unlocking his door with a piece of Armored Armadillo's thick shell (rebuilt and pitted against Zero earlier.) Zero had snuck down the halls of the complex, dodging in and out of the tunnels, avoiding the sleepy sentries. His ultimate goal was the armaments room. If he could get his hands on a beam saber, then he would be invincible. And then there it stood, the armaments room. Lost in his thoughts, Zero had wandered into the den. Zero's eyes darted around, until he saw a full sub-tank lying on a table. Quietly he sneaked in and placed it in his chest compartment. Instantly, he felt his system revitalized by the pure energy, soaking into his circuitry. The feeling was one that he had felt before, and it was always a welcome one. The only sad part about sub-tanks is that they wore out, with an average lifespan of six months.

            Now that he was fully charged, Zero turned about and looked at the walls. There mounted on the wet cement was a wide array of shoulder chainguns, arm cannons, hand grenades…and HIS BEAM SABER. There it waited, lazily placed on its rack. Sigma obviously had fine control over his cohorts, because the superior craftsmanship of that saber was unsurpassed, and Zero thought someone might have tried to steal it.

            Like him. Cautiously, Zero walked up to his beauty. He could almost see that spouting green blade of wrath shoot out of the hilt. He wrapped his white fingers around the handle, and then pulled it back slowly.

            He never even got it fully off the rack. A powerful electric shock activated, for the hilt had been resting on a switch, pressure controlled. When Zero had picked up his saber, the switch rose and activated the defense mechanism. And now the shock was destroying Zero. He could feel his system go haywire, the miniature servos and control systems shorting out. In short, his body was shutting down. His recharge vanished, as his internal repair systems tried to cope with the stresses. Then he slumped to the floor, to see a laughing Sigma above him.

            "Did you REALLY think that I would LET you sneak out, Zero? Oh no. We haven't even begun to get that far yet. Vile, take him back to his chambers. I want our little friend to be well rested for the day ahead." Sigma bent down and patted Zero on the cheek. All Zero could do was scream.

            Back at Maverick HHQ, Bastion was being promoted. No longer was he captain of a measly sub-unit, now he was Commander Bastion of the 21st Maverick Hunter Unit. X himself had recommended Bastion for the upgrade, due to his valor and quick thinking at the Hawaiian mission. And although his tactics were a bit rough, X had been working with Bastion in his spare time at the rec room. While Bastion was taking a liking to the fine capabilities of the beam saber, X hated close combat, not to mention the fact all his upgrades seemed to be pushing him towards the path of Buster fights.

            "And it is because of these points brought up by Commander X and others in the Maverick Hunter Squadrons that I bestow upon you the rank of Commander." Cain pronounced proudly. It was always a joyful occasion for him, because rising to the rank of Commander meant that there were reploids completely dedicated to their role. Cain reached in the oaken case that X was holding, then pulled out a shiny medallion. Gingerly he placed the band over Bastion's head and let it drop. Then he stepped back and released a salute. Bastion saluted back, and then everyone in the room cheered wildly.

            But Cain was suddenly interrupted by a loud wail of the klaxon. Bastion frowned, and turned to X.

            "I guess we'll have to cut it short. There's work to be done." X nodded the feeling of happiness floating away from him. A maverick hunter's life had few breaks. It could be said that it was a lot like being a doctor; there was always a patient to be saved.

            Only these doctors saved more than lives, they saved the world.

            X and Bastion looked on in awe at the viewscreen. Cain frowned, tapping his cane on the floor.

            "Well, X. It seems that our friends are smarting up a bit. Now they're working in unison!" Cain grumbled. X shook his head. Before now, all of the uprising Generals had been by themselves, but now it seemed fate would not repeat itself. Cain froze the picture just as two mavericks appeared.

            "From what we can tell, these are the leaders of the operation. They have taken over the water recycling and treating plants in Antarctica. The one on the left is called Bladed Beaver, and the other beside him is Fluid Ferret." X memorized their appearance. Bladed Beaver was a small creature, but from the looks of it that didn't hinder his speed. He had a large tail with needles on the end, a brownish appearance, and two arm cannons. The other Fluid Ferret was more odd to look at. He was about X's height, streamlined with a tail, smaller than Bladed Beaver's. His coloring was blue, and it seemed he had powerful jaws as well. It seemed he could scamper about without a care in the world.

            "Now I don't need to tell you how important it is we regain those facilities. The entire world depends upon Antarctica's supply of water to exist." Cain continued. X nodded. From his information on the original Mega Man, a reprogrammed Wily robot master known as Ice Man had done the same thing.

            "With two of them, things will be more difficult. I will need help on this mission. Sir, may I take Commander Bastion with me?" X asked. Cain blinked, then nodded. It was hard for him to think about it, but there was a time that X would have refused the help of Bastion. Now it seemed, X was slowly replacing Zero…

            No, it couldn't be, Cain thought. X wouldn't give up on Zero yet…would he? X powered up with his Golden Hyper armor and grabbed an energy shield from the armaments rack nearby. Bastion took a Sub-Tank and a small jetpack and checked his personalized beam saber. Bastion turned to X, and then they blinked out, two light rays of blue/yellow and orange. Cain took a breath, and walked back to his office. Now even he was worried about the crazy red lunatic.

            They arrived at their location less than gracefully. Just as they had been placed in the surf at Hawaii, they now were dumped onto an iceberg at the shore by the plants. X groaned.

            "Great." Bastion chuckled.

            "Not to worry sir, I brought my own transportation this time." Bastion pointed to the small rocket pack. Although it was designed for short use, it would do the trick. X smiled. Together they dash-jumped off the small floating chunk and soared through the air. Below them, a small pack of seals perked their heads up from the waves and stared at them oddly. Just as they reached the apex of their jump, they activated their devices. X air-dashed, pushing himself forward and up twice in quick succession, while Bastion gave a steady stream of fuel to the small but powerful fuel turbojets.

How they worked was the turbojets acted much like those on military aircraft. This was the combination of space age and air age put together, and its design was so varied, they cost little more than a small computer. And you could refuel them anywhere. X on the other hand, used his fuel reserves of Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen from the atmosphere, burned them and expelled them like rocket repellant by the small thrusters on his boots. His first set of Dash Boots, which he always wore if he didn't have a more advanced set with him, was the first item he had obtained from the deceased Doctor Light's capsules.

            In any case, they landed safely and much more elegantly than they had before. Bastion turned off his engines, and X skidded to a halt on the packed ice. X reached up to his helmet and clicked a button on the side. A small map appeared in the corner of his eye, with 2 glowing marks about five miles apart. This is where the main maverick groups were located. X turned it off and activated his energy shield, a device that dated back to Mega Man. What it did was create an energy barrier around the user that would take hits for the wearer. Luckily, maverick systems were incompatible with it, because infection to an energy shield shorted it out long before it became of any use. X turned to Bastion, who was swinging his saber and testing it out.

            "All right, Commander Bastion. There are two clusters ahead of us. One to the southeast, one to the southwest. Which would you like?" Bastion grinned. Now he would be able to fully test himself in full- fledged maverick combat.

            "I'll take the one to the southwest." X nodded.

            "Stay in comm contact. And if things get too harrowing, REPORT IN. Then get the hell out of there. We already have too many dead heroes on our hands." Bastion frowned.

            "Why would you say that?" X turned around and began to walk to the southeast. Then softly, almost like the cold whistling wind, Bastion could hear him say;

            "Because, after the war is finished, when it is all over…there are no heroes. Only mourners."

            To Bastion, the trek was no big deal. Even if he couldn't swim, he could still slide. And the range he traveled was just that, a slide. The cold arctic wind whipped in his face as he glided effortlessly over slope after slope, with the sea to his left and a pure white cloud to his right. It was that time in Antarctica, where the sun never sets, it just hangs there day in and day out, casting continual sun on the frozen fields. Scientists had long ago confirmed that when Antarctica was part of Pangaea, the massive singular continent on the earth, this place was a warm, lush area. Then when the continents broke apart it went south. Too far south, to the bottom of the earth it traveled. Now the crushed grass and ground lay underneath several miles of crushed snow and ice, compacted by age. But to Bastion, all it meant was his playing field was immense. Too bad, he thought. If the mavericks were out here, he would have a lot of fun playing with them. But they had done the usual thing and set up shop in the facilities.

            "Hey, X. you read me?" Bastion chirped as he pushed the comm button on his helmet. Static, then a solid answer.

            "Yes, Bastion. What did you find?" Bastion chuckled.

            "Not much, sir. The base is two miles ahead. How would you approach it unnoticed?" X stopped his slide, then turned to face Bastion, a mile away. A mere speck in the whiteness.

            "Last time I faced something like this was at the Repliforce Arctic Base. I warped in from far away, and took the low road. I guess the thing for you to do Bastion is to wait until the snow drifts, which should already be starting up. That should provide some cover for you to sneak past the guards. Take them out, then head inside and BE QUIET. The easiest way to die is to attract the attention of every plasma cannon in the area. I should know. Luckily, the first time I learned that they were throwing snow, not superheated gas." Bastion chuckled.

            "Thanks, sir. See you after I beat the snot out of the mavericks." Bastion chirped his comm off and dashed. The water treatment plant was pretty big, and he could pick out the long fence. The guards, heavily protected in Chimera mechs guarded the supposedly only way in or out of the compound, the main gate. But Bastion remembered X's sage words and slid down to the left of the main entrance. About ten minutes later with a path sliced open by his saber, Bastion came underneath the electrified fence and popped out onto the main grounds. The fence originally was used to prevent penguins and other native creatures from walking in, but now the mavericks had created a deadly current that snaked through it, waiting to strike the unlucky intruder. And Bastion had just outsmarted the lot of them. Now all he had to do was survive the trip inside and take out the operations master, the awaiting maverick general.

X was having similar luck, with the same outlay. But unlike Bastion who could only sneak and dart around, X came fully equipped for the job. Powering up his Narwhal Cannon, he fired off several explosive bursts, destroying the fence and seriously damaging the Chimera mech guards. When they came charging at him, a superpowerful Hyper Cannon plasma beam disintegrated them. X checked his weapons array. He only had a 70% charge left on the Narhwal Cannon, but the Dante's Inferno flame-thrower and Koala Slash were at full power. In any case, he soon found a weapons capsule rolling around aimlessly, left behind by one of the troops. Plugging it in, he regained 5% of his Narwhal Cannon, then tossing the empty container aside, he set a course for the main control room.

            Bastion had achieved his first objective of getting into the water treatment facility. But to him in the high rafters, it was nothing more than a maze of pipes and wires. But he dared not drop below, for Chimeras were patrolling the area. And he knew in his current state to go against anything more than one Chimera was foolish. Perhaps if he had a hand grenade, or some other anti-tank weapon. But his simple saber although effective at dueling with mavericks, would take several hacks to take down the heavily armored carrier. Bastion looked up ahead of him and saw nothing more than an endless tunnel of pipes. He looked below. Two of the three Chimeras had walked away, scouting the other pathways. An idea flashed in his head, then he leaped off the high tunnel and down below. Activating his saber, he sliced the pilot maverick clean in two. Throwing away the inactive remains, he activated himself as the pilot. Instantly he could feel the system giving him an edge of protection and power. Bastion grinned. He turned the mech around and faced the path which one of them had chosen. Activating the saber arm attachment, he pushed the dash thrusters into action with the button placed on top of the left steering grip. The mighty mech moved forward at what seemed an impossible speed for its bulky frame. Then Bastion could see around the corner the enemy Chimera just turning back. Bastion launched forth, and with a mighty war cry split the metal warrior in half. Both parts exploded, but Bastion was already making a huge dash jump with his mech through some tubes in the middle of the room, opposite of which stood the last Chimera.

            "Hey, Bennie! You all right?" the pilot yelled. His statement was interrupted as Bastion smashed through the barrier, his saber arm outstretched.

            "YAAAH!" Bastion screamed. His Chimera's own inertia caused it to stab the other mech, spearing it until the edge of the blade pierced the other side of the enemy walker. The walker exploded, and Bastion looked at his mech's systems. The explosions had partially damaged the Chimera, but it was still at 80% operating power. Bastion tapped the area schematics onscreen, then smiled as he located the main control chamber. Slowly, he shifted the Chimera forward.        

            "Hold on, my maverick friend. You'll soon have company."

            X meanwhile had nothing holding him back, for his Super Helmet would recharge any damage he took, not to mention the fact his energy shield was still working. These two things and the fact he knew these were the same mavericks who were holding his friend Zero turned him into a rampaging war machine. With his Hyper Cannon at the ready, he steadily progressed through the water collection plant, taking care not to destroy any of the equipment, but taking full time to ensure every enemy unit was disposed of.

            This was not an easy thing, for when he had first blasted into the compound, the alarms had been going off crazily. X at the time had cursed himself for being so rash. But now it seemed the element of surprise was not needed. The superior strength of his armor and weapons were defeating everything the maverick forces threw at him.

            "Where the hell is the blasted control chamber?" X muttered, firing off another plasma blast. But then he looked down, because he was beeping. His energy meter was glowing orange, meaning he was down at dangerously low levels of operating power.

            "DAMN!" X cursed, morphing into his Koala Slash armor, which made him a dark gray. X did this because of the one drawback to the Hyper Cannon; its energy requirements. To pop off the incredibly powerful plasma blasts it needed, it drew off his main operating power. A few would have little noticeable loss on him, but he had fired off what…thirty, forty? X took a breath and stood still. After a few seconds, his helmet patched up a screen in his eyesight.

            "Do you wish to recharge?" X sent a signal back, and his systems slowly began the process of filling up his energy again. This was the Super Helmet's function, to restore health to his systems. But to do it, he needed to remain still, not fighting, much like a sitting duck. X grumbled at the slowness. Even if it was useful, he still thought it took too long.

            "Come on…" X growled. The meter blinked mercilessly. Forty percent, fifty, sixty, seventy, seventy five, eighty two…

            Then a powerful blast of water stopped the recharge and smashed X against the wall, taking off his energy shield's overall power. X looked up to see a powerful robot crouching down on him from above. It looked like a guardian, not the main maverick general, but a subordinate, lacking in thought power.

            A lot of the maverick mini-bosses, as X jokingly called them did not have the reploid abilities of thought. In many ways, they were merely big bots from another age…the age of Mega Man. Able to do only what they were programmed to do, they were the epitamy of what many thought was the ultimate advancement in robotics. When Light created Mega Man, who could imitate humans to a remarkable level, the bar was raised. And then came reploids. It always pained X to destroy fellow reploids, for even if they were mavericks…they were his family.

            This was pretty true, for X was the first of his kind, not a reploid at all, the one from which all others were made. In a way, he was the father. A father that now had to go out and kill his sons and daughters.

            But X felt no qualm in destroying simple programmed machines, unfeeling cold-blooded killers. They were not his kin, and not of his design. Therefore, he felt obligated to scrap every mini-boss he could find. The problem was, could he hold out against them?

            This one was a small one compared to some X had encountered in the past, but that allowed him greater mobility and power. It seemed he had a basic plasma cannon, and X knew that the cannon could also fire powerful jets of water, probably so that the fully charged plasma shots could hit home when enemies were defenseless. X got up and examined his Koala Slash power. Now, he would see what this weapon could do. Activating it, long claws suddenly emerged on the upper exterior of his X-Buster. X chuckled. This seemed a lot like the Sonic Slicer weapon he had gotten from Overdrive Ostrich during the Second Maverick Uprising. And because of that, X realized how easily he could use it. He pumped his other fist, activating the energy transfer. The power drained from the Koala Slash came not from the claws, but the energy that was instilled in them. When X cut into his target, the energy would be released, causing powerful electrical shocks along with the damaging physical wounds. If he charged the Koala Slash, it would release a powerful half-moon shaped charge into the air, devastating anything he hit it with. Like X had thought before, it was a lot like the Sonic Slicer.

            The robot crashed to the ground, and X dashed to the side to avoid the powerful blast of water he knew was coming. The high-pressure stream splashed against a wall harmlessly, releasing a fine mist into the air, which turned into frost and ice due to the temperature. X kicked his Dash Boots into action and charged the monstrosity. But the demon turned his head and fired two small plasma bursts at him. X dodged the first, but the second hit home, knocking off a good portion of his energy shield. It wasn't as damaging as taking a real plasma hit, which would scorch and melt his armor, possibly even destroying vital circuitry, but it still hurt.

            "Goddamnit!" X cried out. He leaped into the air and came falling down, his koala claws raised high up. The robot saw this, but his cannon could not rotate to fire. X fell like a stone, but the force of the inertia was put not into the hard concrete floor, but rather the robot's torso. X screamed a powerful war cry as the Koala Slash's power sliced through the thick armor of the guardian, the power overloading his circuits. When the damage extended to his internal water reserves, the effect was immediate. The beast exploded furiously, flinging X against the wet wall with great force. Chunks of robot, charred, smoking and sizzling all at the same time smashed against his frame like large pieces of shrapnel. When the explosion died down, X looked at his energy gauge. Twenty percent operating power. Shield energy; sixty percent. X blinked, then walked over to a dark corner and hid himself.

            X had long since known that crazy bravado got one nowhere, and after an intense battle he would often look at what had happened. HE COULD HAVE DIED. But by now, that extreme shock was wearing its effect on him. No longer did he convulse for minutes, realizing his life had been in jeopardy. Now he just took time to relax himself and calm down.

            "Computer, begin auto recharge." X spoke softly, as he closed his eyes. His systems blinked a message on his view, then vanished.

            For now, he would wait and get strong. But he still had a powerful foe to go against. And when the time was right, he would finish the job he came to do…retake the water recovery facility.

            While X was waiting for the right moment to strike, Bastion was acting in much the opposite fashion. Armed in his Chimera mech he was charging through hordes of reploids. Under the situation, he noted that were he in the Frog mech he would be dead right now. The sheer amount of armor and weaponry that the Chimera held was incredible. He had read the data files on armored mechs in the reploid library at Maverick HHQ.

            The Chimera was the oldest of all the mechs. When the maverick threat emerged, one maverick by the name of Vile, which Bastion knew X had dealt with twice before was never seen without his Chimera mech, affectionately named "Goliath." The first time X had encountered it, it took Zero's intervention to save his life. The second time, Zero once again intervened, destroying his own life so X could face Vile on an even par. Because of this, the Chimera mechs were favored by maverick forces and were prevalent in great numbers more than any other. They could even withstand hot burning lava!

            Bastion could imagine what it looked like to watch a gray blur with an orange top to come speeding by, and then suddenly realize you have been utterly destroyed by the same blur, before blinking out of existence. He kind of liked it, the power he held. The power to decide between life and death.

            But he snapped back as he realized that ahead of him was a slim door. No way the Chimera could fit in it. He turned on the saber attachment and charged the wall. But the response was unexpected. An ionic shield had been placed around the wall, so that his saber proved useless. Much like breaking a twig, Bastion saw the blazing blade of yellow bend harmlessly, off the wall much like a large letter L. Bastion frowned. Whoever was behind the door wanted to face him by himself.

            "All right you maverick scum. I'll play by your game." Bastion called out, dismounting his Chimera mech and walking to the door. A voice behind it chuckled loudly,

            "Good, good. I'd hate to think the conquering hero was a bad sport." Bastion backed off for a minute, reaching for his saber and turning it on. The comforting purple glow flickered to life and he smashed the door in with his boot. He dodged to the side just in case the maverick behind it was trying to fire at him while he was in the kill zone, but it was not necessary. Only silence came from the doorway.

            "Oh, come, come now. Did you think I would steep to such a low level to fire at an unsuspecting Maverick Hunter? Well, maybe I would BUT THE POINT IS…just get in here, will you?" Bastion smiled. He had caused his opponent to become flustered, and that would be an advantage. Bastion stepped slowly through the metal frame, moving to the side and raising his blade.

            A figure became clearer to him as the lights flickered to life, becoming brighter very slowly. His enemy was short, with a large tail…

            "Bladed Beaver, I presume?" Bastion asked warily, eyeing his foe for any sudden movements. But the maverick only smiled, revealing two rows of sharp, white teeth. Bastion could take a wild guess at what he was going to do with those. Beaver nodded.

            "And who would you be, my brave BUT FOOLISH adversary?" Bastion stared at him for a moment, then replied in an even tone,

            "Commander Bastion, leader of the 21st Maverick Hunter Unit." Bladed Beaver's smile became even wider.

            "Ahh, I see those fools have sent me one of their finest. That will only make my victory even more sweet!" Bastion blinked, then replied,

            "I don't know you. Which unit were you a part of?" Beaver's smile widened even more as a wide raucous laugh filled the room. Bladed Beaver laughed so hard, he raised his tail to support himself. When he finally stopped laughing, he snickered a bit, then managed to eke out a comeback.

            "I wasn't! I am a pure maverick, made from scratch! Did you REALLY think I'd want anything to do with your pathetic band of lawkeeping loonies?" Beaver's laughter began anew as he fell backwards, his tail slapping on the pavement with silliness. His attitude angered Bastion greatly.

            To laugh during a battle is to say to the other side that your full concentration and effort are not needed. Bladed Beaver was very obviously informing Bastion he thought he was unworthy as an opponent. Bastion almost charged him, but then X's words stopped him in mid-dash.

            "There are no heroes, only mourners."

He jumped back and stared at Bladed Beaver. Sure enough, the crafty devil had been waiting for that move, and had swung his mighty metallic tail in a wide arc, hoping to hit Bastion with it. Had Bastion acted in the heat of the moment, not thinking clearly, he would have been hit and possibly even been taken out. Bastion smiled, thanking X silently for his guidance.

            "Nice try, tubby tail. Now, how about we do this for real?" Bladed Beaver fumed, leaping up and into his crouching position.

            "Very well then, you rapscallion. I must warn you, no one has ever insulted me and lived to tell about it." He raised his teeth and chattered furiously. Bastion dropped his smile and lowered his beam saber to a horizontal position. A cold gust of wind blew through a broken window, filling the air with snowy dust.

            X emerged from his place in the shadows, fully charged. At least with his main operations energy. His weapons were still depleted, with the Narwhal Cannon at 80%, the Koala Slash at 92%, and with the Dante's Inferno at full power. X turned his head and walked over to the main computing piece of the Chimera he had destroyed ten minutes ago. Placing his hand on it, he used his data transfer ability to scan the memory for the facility blueprints. Almost all Chimeras held maps, just so that the mavericks controlling them knew where to patrol. X smiled as an image burned into his memory, then he got up.

            "All right. Now I should be heading…this way." X said to himself quietly. Slowly he began to walk, trying to remain silent as possible. He turned another corner, and he spoke again.

            "I'm not far off. If I'm right, I should be seeing the door to the main control center soon." A loud warcry broke his monologue. X's spine, if he had one chilled and shivered at the very sound of it. When X walked around the corner, his Hyper Cannon raised in defense, he saw what caused it. There was the small door leading into the control chamber, and a figure standing behind it. X dropped to the floor and scanned his surroundings. He had to find another way in, otherwise the maverick would have him right in his ambush zone. X scanned the map he held in his system and looked for any other ways in. Suddenly, an opportunity presented itself, in the form of a simple airduct. X looked down to his left and saw the entrance.

            Maintenance robots used these ducts to clean out the air circulation systems humans required, as well as a quick way to move around the facility without being trampled on by the workers. And now, these same tunnels would help X liberate this plant. He had to be quiet, or else the maverick general on the other side of that door would get wise and follow him…or worse.

            Gently, he used a fraction of his Koala Slash to cut open the grate covering the tunnel. The process was slow, but X knew that this time, unlike the last, time was not of the essence. Survival was.

            He pried it off and crept in, slowly shifting back and forth down the shaft. When he went far enough, he could another grate on the right side of the tunnel. Since he had been going up as well, X knew this would let him literally get the drop on his foe. X stopped and peered through the thin bars of the cover grate, and saw…nothing.

            The room was empty as far as he saw. His mystery maverick was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly a loud grating noise screeched against the duct. X swiveled his head quickly, seeing two rows of incredibly sharp teeth gnashing through the passageway. X raised his Hyper Cannon and fired a small uncharged blast at the metal grate. It blew off its hinges like a bomb had hit it, and X snaked out of the thin passageway, dropping to the floor. Instantly, his Hyper Cannon gained a bead on his adversary. X recognized the threat instantly from his name.

            "Fluid Ferret." The foe jumped down from his position, his tail waving madly in the air as he fell. He was tall, thin, and wiry. The picture perfect image of an incredibly angry ferret. In the wild, Ferrets were dangerous creatures whose viselike gripping teeth clamped down on their victims until they bled to death, pinned down and helpless to defend themselves. And if a wild animal could wreak such havoc, X could only imagine what this demon was capable of. His small but bushy tail wagged back and forth, his teeth still held bits of air duct. Ferret gnashed the bits and swallowed them, then smiled at X.

            "So, the great X. Destroyer of Sigma, the first reploid. We meet at last. I am sorry to say your time here is extremely short, however." X frowned, his cannon at the ready.

            "I don't consider myself to be the first. I consider myself to be of an entirely different classification. A reploid is short for replicate android. In short, I am above you, for you are nothing more than the reconstructed shadows of myself." X's words rang true, for he had often had this internal struggle with that. And now, he had finished it, just in time to fight this menace. Fluid Ferret merely smiled even more. He knew that X was trying to fluster him, to make him lose his cool. But he had studied his predecessor's failures. And every one of them underestimated his true power. He would not do so.

            "Nice try, X. But your pretty speeches solve nothing. As far as I know, you are probably using an energy shield, or a Sub-Tank, or both. Do not think I will be merciful on you, for unlike my comrades who failed to realize your true power, I have fully realized every option you may take!" X squinted his eyes. To himself, he thought of what this could mean. Fluid Ferret was betting on the option he had come fully loaded, which meant energy attacks would not be part of his regimen, seeing as the energy shield would cancel their effects on him. This also meant any opportunities to fight at long-range would be dashed. His Hyper Cannon would be useless. This was to be a close-combat fight. Only his Koala Slash would do. He accessed the weapons array and selected his Koala Slash. Instantly, his white-blue suit became a dark gray, and 2 pairs of claws emerged from his cannon socket. Fluid Ferret looked on in surprise, for this was something he had not counted on. X looked up and gave a weak smile, one that was grim.

            "So, you want to fight close in, no energy weapons? Fine. I'll do the same." Fluid Ferret smiled, his jagged teeth glinting light off in every direction.

            "You surprise me, X. but I like it. This will be a great victory, the ultimate test of my skills! And don't forget…I will win." X crouched, then raised two fingers and motioned to Ferret.

            "Stop talking and fight you little weasel!" The maverick smiled again and then charged X, his scream turning into an ear-splitting wail. Fluid came in low, but X air-dashed to the left, avoiding the ground skimming attack. Fluid Ferret suddenly bounded up from his low dash and flew right at X, his eyes blood red with anger. X looked down in surprise and slashed his first down. The Koala Slash made contact with Fluid Ferret's own razor-sharp claws, both sizzling furiously as they tried to cut their way past the blockage. Fluid Ferret took the distraction from the intertwined weapons to try and crane his jaws up by X's neck. But X saw the sudden movement and reacted to it, bringing about his second hand and slicing Fluid Ferret with a powerful uppercut across the chin. X then turned his left Dash Boot into Ferret's stomach and fired the air-rockets. What X had done was strike a minute blow and at the same time separated them. X dashed again before he hit the ground, coming to a slow stop. But when he took a look at his Koala Slash reserves, he saw that when their fists had melded during the brief period of a little more than a second, it had drained off their energy down to 75%. X glanced back up again, but Fluid Ferret was just standing up. He raised his head, and showed X the slight cut on his chin.

            "You're a powerful one, X. Now I see why the others were at such a disadvantage. It seems even my friend Killer Koala could not destroy you, as evidenced by your weaponry." X let a tiny smile come to his lips. If this great warrior could admit X was an exceptional fighter, he possibly stood a chance of winning. But Fluid Ferret's speech took a turn for the worse. "However, let it be known my friend that I am the strongest warrior of all the mavericks you have fought. It is little note that you have won before. You were playing in the little leagues…welcome to the majors!" Fluid Ferret snarled again and launched himself at X viciously. The attack was one X could not block, and he was knocked flat on his back. By the time X could move, the demon had latched onto X's right arm, and was slowly chewing it up into scrap. Reploid blood, purple spurted from his arm, and X screamed in pain. He reached around with his other hand and sliced at Ferret's face in the cheek, but the blow was a weak one and the maverick continued his grisly work. X's hand fell limply to the floor, his face stained by his own blood, his systems at 10% energy.

_            I'm doomed,_ X thought. His mind flashed hundreds of images across his viewscreen, each of them from his past. Even ones he could not identify…_Dr. Light???_

            Fluid Ferret jumped up and looked down on the severely damaged maverick hunter, the greatest maverick hunter, Mega Man X. A grim smile crossed his face.

            "Well, X. It has been fun, but now I am afraid you must die. I wonder; when you die, will you go to heaven or hell? Surely, hell I am thinking. Look at everyone you have killed mercilessly. Every maverick you have fought, dead, their spirits gone from this plane. If mavericks possess such a thing!" Fluid Ferret laughed at his own witty comment. X could only stare loosely, his eyes glazed over. He was close to death, and he could focus on nothing.

            To him, time moved slowly. Everything appeared hampered by molasses. X was feeling what many humans do when they are about to die. The old memories, their lives flashing before their eyes, then the slowness of events. Suddenly, the blur of Fluid Ferret vanished, and a small figure appeared in front of him. X blinked weakly, trying to focus in. But he could not see anything. Just a lone figure with large eyes that looked at him pleadingly. _X, GET UP AND FIGHT!!!_

            "Why? Why must I fight? I am tired, I want to die." X whimpered, a small tear of systems fluid dropping from his face. The figure looked at him even more. His face was haunting, and X could not tear his gaze from it, nor shut his eyes from the sight. _X, you must fight. I know you don't want to, but if you don't, then millions will suffer._ The figure's head came into vision. It was round, with outcroppings on the top and sides. Then X saw a glint of blue, a dark sea of blue. His helmet was blue.

            "Mega Man.." X whispered. The figure closed his eyes and vanished, until only a whisper of his voice remained. _Fight, X. fight to survive._ Then the ghostly image of Mega Man vanished, and Fluid Ferret appeared once more. The maverick reached down with one of his hands to sever X's neck and forever end his life. But suddenly X felt rejuvenated, and with a burst of pure power, he launched himself up.

            "NO!" X shouted, taking his left arm and slashing viciously at Fluid Ferret's chest. The wound ran deep and the charged energy overloaded his circuitry, throwing him back a few feet. But X slumped to his knees, weakened by his outburst. X had just received for what humans would be pure instinct. The instinct to live, fight or flight is the most basic and the most powerful in all creatures. And with the same power X drew from his flesh and blood kin, he had prevented his death.

            But now, Fluid Ferret got up, grasping his open wound. His face was stone cold, a look of pure death in his eyes. He would kill X. The massive demon reared back on his legs to prepare for the leap that would conclude with X's neck in his mouth, and X shut his eyes.

            "I'm sorry, Mega Man. I tried." He whimpered softly. Another tear fell from his eye, and he waited. But the sound he heard was not the one of sharpened fangs slicing his throat, but one of an exploding wall. X opened his eyes to see the wall to his left blow in. The chunk flew straight, crashing into Fluid Ferret and pounding him into the opposite wall, where he fell into a crumpled heap. X turned left again, and there in full glory, riding atop a massive Chimera riding tank was Bastion, a little scrounged, but with a look of pure joy on his face.

            When the dust cleared, Bastion scanned the room, and saw X lying on his side, a pool of purple blood beneath him and a mangled arm. Bastion leaped out of the tank and dashed over to his comrade.

            "X! Speak to me, man!" X lifted his head weakly.

            "I've set my helmet to recharge, but I'm too far gone for it to do any good. I'm dying, Bastion." The orange reploid shook his head and clicked a button on his chest.

            "Not for long you aren't. Just don't die on me yet!" Bastion reached inside the newly opened chest compartment and pulled out his Sub-Tank, unused. With a vicious thrust, he jammed it into X's chest compartment and set it to feed.

            How Sub-Tanks work was based on the simple principle of energy. A reploid's energy meter was based on how much energy his system could divert from the main power core to repair itself if the reploid took damage. When the reploid did, small microrobots scampered to the damaged area and sealed it off, healing it as well. The energy meter was based on how much energy these small probes could divert from the reploid's power generator, a micro-fusion fuel tank to use for their purpose. X could feel the energy flowing into his fusion tank, the microprobes activating and fixing him up. X stood weakly, his legs shaking.

            "I'll be all right now, Bastion. Thanks. Why didn't you use it?" Bastion grinned from ear to ear.

            "Didn't need to. That guy was so busy trying to play cheeseball tactics on me, I didn't need it. I even picked up a new move. I call it the "Whirling Slasher" I just basically spin about and slash everything who's too close." X smiled. This young warrior was progressing fast.

            "I'm afraid I had less luck. Of course, I wasn't fighting Mr. Stupid. You see that pile of rubble over there? There's a maverick by the name of Fluid Ferret underneath. Grab him for interrogation, and let's go home."

            "I'm with ya there, X. Be right back!" Bastion happily bounced over and kicked the rubble aside. There underneath it was Fluid Ferret, his wounds recuperating in emergency stasis. Bastion lifted the sleeping demon and warped out, with the wounded X following closely behind.


	12. Fighting On Cloud Nine

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**CHAPTER TEN: FIGHTING ON CLOUD NINE**

            Zero was running over a green grassy field. The wind blew softly around him, causing the tall blades to shimmer. The sun beat down softly, giving heat but not deadly rays. With his hair whipping in the breeze, Zero took a powerful breath, smelling the life around him. And there on the other side of the field stood another figure, with pink and blue clothing, and long brown hair.

            _Iris! _Zero took a look around. Why would Iris be here? Iris was dea…was he dead?! Zero thought to himself. He slapped himself, but felt no pain. His face brightened into a smile. He was in heaven, his spirit passed on. No more fighting, no more bloodshed, no more Sigma. He began to jog towards his lost love, then broke out into a run. Iris too began to trot towards him, her arms open, a smile of joy on her face, a hauntingly beautiful laugh accompanying it. Zero ran closer.

            "Iris!" he called out. Iris laughed again, then they met in the field. Embracing each other, Zero closed his eyes as his arms held Iris in a hug. "Iris, are we dead?"

            "Not yet, Zero." Iris's voice vanished. Zero's eyes opened in surprise. He looked down, but instead of seeing Iris, he saw a grim smiling face of evil on her body.

            "NOO!!!" Zero cried out as he jumped away. Iris's frame vanished, as one of Sigma, tall evil and dark overcame him.

            Zero shot up from his hard cot, only to be slapped back down to the floor roughly. Voices in the dozens laughed as he focused back to reality. Sigma stood above him, laughing heartily with the rest.

            "Oh, Zero. Dozing off again, are we? We can't have that. Dreaming of Iris again, eh?" Zero's eyes became wide with anger and an intense rage of hopelessness.

            "It was so much fun to watch her die by your very own hands. A reploid will do so much to appease her alliance. I gave her one simple choice; either she fought you, or I killed her. And you took care of the second option for me!" Sigma laughed again, but Zero finally snapped.

            Somewhere deep within his circuitry lay a part of him that had been forged since his very creation…the heart of the Maverick Virus. Now for once, Zero had lost control of it. It had always been a problem for him, but he had never known what it was until a few days ago, when Sigma revealed the truths of his past. A mighty river, overflowing with rage and a pure anger had been dammed up long ago. But Sigma, by causing Zero to go mad with Iris's past had pushed a few hundred crates of dynamite underneath the dam and blew it up.

            "YAAAHHH!!!" Zero screamed. His vision went blurry, then his mind went blurry as well. All reasonable, logical though vanished from his mind as a very simple protocol was instilled in him. _Destroy._

            Zero leaped from his bed, bouncing off the ceiling, then crashing back down and smashing Sigma against the ground. His hand snaked behind the stunned maverick and grabbed Sigma's beam saber. Clicking it on, Zero turned into a pure madman, waving the saber around viciously, slicing every reploid within his sight. _Kill all that moves, _is what the program said to him. And Zero, having lost all semblance of himself in his uncontrollable rage followed it blindly. The blood, purple, green and yellow, every color of vital reploid fluid splattered against the walls. Within seconds, Zero had destroyed ten mavericks. And only Sigma, Vile and one other remained. Sigma turned to the third maverick and shouted out an order.

            "Get to the main control room and LOCK THIS PLACE DOWN!" the maverick nodded his head, then ran out of the tunnel. Zero saw the running coward and charged at him, his saber raised for the devastating slash that awaited him But Vile saw the move coming and charged in the way of the frenzied Pheonix of Death. Zero saw only another target popping up in front of him, and so in all of his simple wisdom, he swung his blade and lopped off Vile's head. The body fell to the ground with a crash, and the loose helmet rolled for a while. Then the entire thing blew off from overheating, revealing to all in the room that underneath Vile's helmet lay…nothing.

            Vile was an empty shell of himself. He had not always been that way. In fact when he was a part of the Maverick Hunters with Sigma, he was often considered to be a bronze god, with purple armor and a contrasting mane of orange, a straight jaw and a powerful upper body frame. But during a maverick mission, Vile's head was seriously injured. Unbeknownst to anyone at Maverick HHQ but Sigma, Vile with the aid of his leader transferred his mind into the simple framework of a helmet that would indicate to people he had something to hide. When in fact, he had…nothing to hide. This bizarre sight caused Zero to stall for a brief moment, his logic circuits trying to re-establish themselves in his primary memory banks. But the maverick fury would not be uprooted so easily, and his virus fought back. Just then, Sigma taking the opportunity of Zero's glitch smashed Zero across the room, causing him to smack sickly against the wall. This immense blow was enough to jar the maverick fray form his mind as the pain flooded into it. Zero's eyes blinked, losing the deadened blackness and retaking their customary green color. Sigma came over and punched him out again, taking his beam saber in the process. Zero's eyes fluttered, then shut as his body slept once more. Sigma dumped the sleeping demon on his bed, then walked over to the door, just now shutting. Sigma rolled underneath it, then got up and walked over to the maverick he had given the instructions to. The maverick looked up fearfully, but all Sigma did was give him a look of pure hatred.

            "We just lost Vile. And I would wager that before we break him, many more will perish." The maverick stared back at him with a look of defiance.

            "You think that we will follow you now??! You have sent off our friends to be killed by him! I will not take orders from a person who would waste his group's lives so blindly. What you are giving us is nothing more than GENOCIDE." Sigma's eyes flared up and he unsheathed his blade. With a mighty swing, he drove the blade right down the center of his opponent. Everyone in the control room turned and looked at him. Sigma picked up the microphone and accessed every speaker in the maverick base.

            "Now you listen to me. You see now what insubordination brings. I would not recommend it. And as for genocide, you are NO WORSE OFF than if you were to run out into the streets and try to overtake the Maverick Hunter Base itself!" A lone maverick raised his hand and spoke timidly.

            "Then why did our 8 best fighters leave to wreak havoc if they are doomed?" Sigma turned his head and fired a powerful plasma blast from his forehead. The explosion from the speaker splattered everyone with tiny bits of reploid.

            "I sent them out as a distraction. Zero is the key here! If we can turn him back into a maverick like he first was, then he will be unstoppable! We are nothing more than pawns in his chess game! We are worthless. It is his transformation that is important. If I die by his hands, then I die. AND IF ANY OF YOU THINK OTHERWISE, YOU WILL DIE NOW." The room cowered in fear. Sigma sighed, putting his saber back in his holster.

            "Keep an eye on him. I want him in the training room with Gravity Beetle when he wakes up." Sigma turned and walked to his quarters, a smile of desperation and utter hopelessness on his face._ My life is worthless. I sorely hope that Zero will destroy me, when he turns maverick._

__

            X groaned. Where was he? He sat up, and a calm hand grabbed him by the shoulder. X blinked through his sluggish eye shutters, trying to focus. But he didn't need to; he could tell it was Bastion.

            "Hey, X. You took a lot more punishment than I thought! You've been out for three days straight!" X shook his head. He noticed that his Golden Hyper armor had been taken off, and that only his basic set lay on him. Dr. Cain walked in and smacked X on the head with his cane.

            "Oww!" X cried out, instantly reaching to protect his cranium Cain smacked his hand. X whipped it around furiously. Cain laughed.

            "Well, his motor controls are fine!" X grabbed his cane and broke it in half.

            "You have a funny way of testing, Doc." Cain picked up the broken pieces and scowled at X.

            "That was my best stick, X."

            "Yeah, and you keep hitting me with it!" Bastion finally separated them with a mighty sweep of his arm.

            "Lay off, Doc. X here is still recovering." Dr. Cain nodded his head.

            "X, your entire right arm was nearly severed from your torso. Not to mention the common bruises you suffer. I had to work an entire twelve hour shift to get your arm back in working condition. And what do you do??? YOU BREAK MY STICK!" X chuckled.

            "So, get another one. Where's Fluid Ferret?" Cain's smile of rivalry vanished.

            "The maverick in question is being held in the interrogation room. He's chained, and with his teeth filed down as well as his claws, he can't break free. I suggest since you are still woozy from your encounter with him, you should do the minor work today." X seemed miffed. Bastion pounded him on the shoulder.

            "Don't worry, X. While you're playing twenty questions, I'll be skewering Albatross. It seems another of the eight has come up. Airborne Albatross is messing things up at the International Spaceport." The ISP was the main link for space travel, and it was crucial for space colonies in the outer rim of the Sun's reach that the supplies carried by the transports from there arrived to them, or they would perish. They had originally thought about sending reploids, but when the First Maverick Uprising occurred, they botched that plan. So common humans were up there. X pulled out his Sub-Tank from his Chest Compartment and handed it to Bastion.

            "Here, then. Take your Tank back. You'll need it more than I will." Bastion laughed softly.

            "Yeah. Unless of course, weasel boy has acidic spit!" X blinked at Bastion oddly. Bastion finally waved his hands around. "Ahh, I'm kidding." X shook his head. With all of the crazy reploid designs some people came up with, there was no telling what a reploid had, ability-wise.

            Bastion saluted X proudly, then ran out of the door. X turned to Cain, who was whimpering and trying to put his walking stick back together. X smiled, then headed out the door and down the hall…to the interrogations room.

            Fluid Ferret was in stasis mode, trying to conserve his strength. The blows he had received three days ago had been patched up and fixed by the medical personnel on base, but seeing as they wanted him to be unable to escape, they had not given him a complete energy recharge. So he down at about 50% power. Just then , the heavy metal door of his room clanked open. Fluid raised his head slowly, to see X staring at him. The door shut, and then they were alone. X bored his eyes in on the maverick.

            "You made quite a mess back in Antarctica. By the way, Bladed Beaver was destroyed." Fluid crossed his arms and stretched back.

            "Not my problem. He dies, he dies." X shook his head. He knew that Fluid Ferret was a fierce warrior, but was he also unaffected by loss?

            "How can you say that? One of your people was killed, and all you can do is yawn like someone squashed a bug?!" Fluid smiled.

            "My, my. Aren't WE the sentimental one? No wonder I almost defeated you, X. You are weak in the mind. You lack the warrior's mindset, and THAT…is why you continually lose. If it hadn't been for your pesky friend in the tank, you'd be pushing up daisies. Or existing as an ashtray." X had to hold himself back from striking Fluid Ferret. He was obviously trying to goad X into making the first move. X sat down.

            "Moving on, Weasel boy. Now as I understand it, you are aware of the mavericks' hidden base. Where is it at?" Ferret raised his hands, chained together and smiled broadly.

            "Every babe on the block knows I'm where its at, man." X simply stared at him coldly. He stood up and walked towards the door.

            "All right. Play your mindgames. But one way or another, you'll talk." X pounded on the door. And as he walked out, Fluid Ferret leaped to his feet and shouted a phrase that made X grimace.

            "Jailbirds don't squawk!"

            Bastion's bright beam smashed into the ground at Cape Canaveral, reforming into his usual dapper orange self. Pulling out his beam saber, he took a practice swing with his technique, the Whirling Slasher. Bastion put it away and looked south of him.

            Cape Canaveral was once the home of NASA, the US space and explorations program. But it, along with every other space program assimilated into the United Earth Space League(UESL.) Now this ancient site, the one where thousands of shuttle launches had occurred was the home of the ISP. And hgh above circled Airborne Albatross, keeping watch. Bastion dropped to the ground and scanned the horizon. He could see several Hawk Armored Tanks flying about, keeping watch. And it seemed that they were setting up explosives beneath the main shuttle runner. Shuttle did not simply lift straight off and waste fuel as they had before, now they were shot like a bullet by electromagnetic rails. When they were speared into the air, the main turbojets kicked in and continued the momentum. When they reached the upper atmosphere, rocket boosters took over. All in all, they saved about two million credits each launch by following this procedure. But if the main runner with its rails were to be sabotaged, the costs of repairs would spiral upwards and suddenly begin another drop in the International Debt. Bastion lifted his arm with the connected comm and spoke into it.

            "Maverick HHQ, this is Bastion. I'm at the site. Tell my squadron to come on down, but have them come prepared. Each troop with a Sub-Tank. And bring the demolitions kit as well. They're setting up a nasty boom-boom." Bastion clicked his comm off and then began to run towards his goal; Airborne Albatross.

            X was in Cain's office again, for something had happened during his last mission, and he didn't know what. Cain hobbled in on a new stick, his old one hopelessly splintered in two. X looked up and stared at him.

            "Hey Doc, can I talk to you?" X asked. Cain nodded. X rarely asked to speak to people, and when he did that meant something big was troubling him. Cain sat down and lay his walking stick against his desk and propped his foot up.

            Cain's foot had been injured at the beginning of the First Maverick Uprising, when a large part of their computer systems at the base was blown apart by Launch Octopus and crashed on his leg. Only by incredible medical knowledge did the doctors manage to save his battered extremity, and even then it had lost a good part of it's function. So now Cain was forced to rely on a walking stick to get around.

            "When I was losing to Fluid Ferret, something odd happened to me. I think I had a near-death experience." X said. Cain sat up straight.

            "You're kidding, right X? Reploids can't have those…can they?" X nodded his head.

            "My entire existence flashed before my eyes, from when you awoke me to the last moments when Fluid Ferret was gnawing on my arm. And then a figure appeared and spoke to me. But I knew him, and he knew me." Cain rolled his fingers on the oaken desk.

            "Who was it?" X paused, then shut his eyes and began again.

            "It was Mega Man." Cain uttered an incredible "HUH?" and slipped out of his chair, falling on the floor. X continued, oblivious to Cain's surprise.

            "He told me to get up and fight, that if I didn't many more would suffer." Cain whistled as he got back up, disheveled but intrigued.

            "It seems you were right, X. But what you must understand is this; when a human has a near death experience and recounts it, many things are fuzzy. It could have merely been your reploid sub-conscious mind screaming for self-preservation, a self-created illusion to justify your actions. Or…you could be telling the truth." X stopped Cain.

            "Did Mega Man die?" Cain shrugged his shoulders.

            "Nobody knows. A little after the incident with the robot called 'King', Wily, his creations, Mega Man and his friends all disappeared. Mega Man could still be alive, or he could be dead somewhere. As it is, we'll never know. All the information I obtained from Light's lab all deal with you and your capabilities. There is no mention of Mega Man, Roll, Protoman, Rush…in short, as far as I can tell from his notes, it's like they never existed. And as for Dr. Cossack, a close friend and ally of Light's…he went into hiding. I believe he's still alive, he WAS 20 years younger than Light. When Light created you, he was pushing the grave, and his figure wasn't any slimmer. Not to mention he pipe smoked." X shut his eyes as a tear glistened down his cheek.

            "In other words, there's no way for me to find out." Cain nodded.

            "Unless Dr. Cossack would find you and give you the scoop, yes. He is the last link to your past. And THAT'S assuming Cossack still lives." X got up.

            "If that's so, then I'll go find him." Cain stood up as well, his eyes calm but worried.

            "Are you sure about this?" X grabbed Cain lightly by the shoulders.

            "How would you like to not know your past, to have it only in bits and pieces? I thought I could live without it, but now I see that is not possible. Dr. Cain, if I don't follow this lead…ANY LEAD…then I have no reason to go on. Without a past, I have no future." X pulled back his hands and shifted into his Paladin armor.

            "Bastion can handle things. I've taught him everything I know. And if you find Zero, you know where to reach me." Cain stood up suddenly and dug into his pocket.

"Well, if you're really going to go, take this. I use it to keep warm, something you don't need, but it might come in handy." X looked down to see Cain's hand holding the bright yellow bandanna he always kept with him. X smiled and took it.

"Thanks, doc. You take care."

And so it was that X, the first of the thinking robots left Maverick HHQ in search of his past. Dr. Cain shook his head and picked up his walking cane.

            "X and Zero are gonna kill me yet. Now both of them are gone. And who's left to fight the war??? BASTION." Cain walked out of his office towards the cafeteria. He needed a cup of coffee after this.

            Bastion's men had arrived on the scene, fully equipped, just like he had asked. His men although new were rigorously trained by him and X. One half were saber fighters, the other half Buster crackshots. For Bastion and the 21st Unit, this versatility meant that their group could deal with any situation. Reploids who could deflect plasma blasts were highly affected by beam sabers, and those who were saber fighters could be defeated by X-Buster users who could keep their distance.

            The X-Buster's design was a part of X. Cain copied it to create the Reploid Buster, but because so many used it and because they knew its design was like X's, they just called them X-Busters, or Busters for short.

            Bastion pointed to his Buster group.

            "You ten will go to the shuttle ramps. Disarm the bombs and prevent the explosions at all costs." A Maverick Hunter Unit was composed of twenty men and a leader. Bastion then turned his head to the Saber Specialists.

            "You will come with me. It is our job to retake the main controls of the facility and rescue any hostages. Are both groups clear on their duties?"

            "YES SIR!!" Came the reply, loud and dutiful. Bastion gave a salute and the two groups split up, one heading east, the other west.

            X had landed in Russia…or at least what it used to be. With the fully fledged Mars and Moon Colonies, as well as the wide array of Space Stations in orbit all over the Solar System, many people had fled the desolate life of Russia for a new life. Their economic problems were many, and their civilization fled like rats from a sinking ship. X shuddered, thankful that before 200X, the two superpowers of the US and the USSR had not started the apocalypse. If there was one thing that scared him more than localized acts of destruction, it was the widespread damage that could have been.

            Now most of Russia was private lots. They had their tourist attractions like any other place, for in the future nothing was more precious than history. There were hundreds of supercomputers which stored history all around the world. Mankind was determined not to let their achievements go to waste. This bizarre step was taken because scientists realized the danger mankind held to itself. This inner aggressive quality had led to the destruction of the library at Alexandria while time was still recorded in the B.C. scale, when the Roman forces in an attempt to overpower the Egyptian fleet had sent in burning hulks to wreak havoc in the harbor. But the fire had spread and ruined all.

            One of the most important tourist attractions was Dr. Cossack's abandoned but refurbished fortress. During the 4th Robot Rebellion, or 4th Wily War as it was sometimes called, Dr. Cossack had been the pawn of Wily in a scheme until his daughter was safely returned to him by the aid of Protoman. X smiled. Even back then his forefather's accomplishments were noted. And according to his internal map databank, the fortress was not far. If the answers belonged with Cossack, he would find them there.

            Bastion's Buster group had run into opposition, but their training and dedication had saved them. Even the Chimera Tanks the mavericks brought against them were destroyed, pounded to scrap by the controlled fire and charge tactics the group had practiced. The bombs had been disarmed quickly and easily.

            But all forces were on alert, and Bastion and his Saber group found it more difficult to reach their objective. Then a chilling cry rang out from above, and Bastion looked up to see a dark shape crashing down upon him, blocking out the sun.

            "Spread out!" Bastion cried. His men moved quickly, and then it was just Bastion with his activated beam saber trying to run from it. But even with a powerful dash he could not outrun the form, and powerful talons snatched him up. Instantly, Bastion could sense that he was being pulled up to great heights in the sky. The entire ISP in all its glory could be seen, the sun, beacon of light and hope to a civilization glinting off the reflective windows. And below, his Buster group joining with his other men. Bastion almost smiled to see the efficiency at which they worked, but he held back when he realized he was in danger. In the beauty of earth, he had forgotten his own peril. That is how captivating it is from above.

            Bastion looked up, for now he could clearly see what he was up against. A powerfully built figure, with a monstrous wingspan, powerful slashing and gripping talons, both wings bristling with guns and missiles of every sort. It was to the point that Bastion was unsure what this thing was.

            But a voice confirmed his early suspicions.

            "You screwed up our operation, Hunter. Now, you must die." Bastion laughed. The figure was none other than Airborne Albatross, the maverick leader. Albatross tightened his grip for a moment and took a powerful dive. Bastion's saber whipped fiercely in the wind, and he almost lost it. Only by sheer willpower did his weapon remain in his grasp. The maverick leader was aiming for the steel girdles and platforms far off by the waves. This was the launch platform, the only thing remaining from the age of shuttle and rocket launches. And it was old and brownish red, oxidized and brittle. Albatross released his grip and Bastion hurtled like a rocket to the mess below. Bastion gritted his teeth. Any one of those girders could snap, turning the entire mess into a maze of sharp outcroppings to rip him to shreds, and if he was lucky, a giant pile of rubble in which he would be buried.

            "Gotta make this count," Bastion grunted. He would only get one shot at this. Even the simulation room could not have fully prepared him from this. "Well, here goes. I win, I become famous. I die, I'm just another loss in the Maverick Uprisings." The bitter irony and indifference of fate is often hated, and Bastion was to test it. When he came in close, he curled himself into a ball, shooting past through a hole in the girders. He pulled out his saber and unleashed a Whirling Slash that cleared the area around him of girders. What the Whirling Slash did was it relied on his dash boots to provide side thrust that would send him in a gyroscopic orbit. When he did, he turned into literally, a giant Whirling Slash. The rusted metal splintered easily, and Bastion soon found himself grasping onto a metal railing at the other side of the construction. He used his momentum and swung himself around, landing softly on the top of his slashed platform. But the metal creaked ominously, groaning under the new stress. And above, Airborne Albatross was going mad.

            "How could you evade death?! NO ONE could have survived that!" Bastion grinned.

            "Apparently I did." Albatross cried out in anger, and his wings reached full wingspan, shooting out like cannons. Instantly, hundreds of missiles came flying out. Some were concussion, some explosive, some energy missiles that would unleash electrical storms. And every one could kill Bastion.

            There was no way to avoid it, and if he jumped down he would die in the wreckage. So if he couldn't stay, or go down…

            He had to go up. Bastion slipped his saber back in its sheath and readied himself for a jump. Then, with every ounce of strength and booster power he had, he leaped from the rusting deathtrap and threw himself into the air. The first wave passed by him, close enough to make him go blind in the smoke. But Bastion realized he was falling, and he did not have anything to jump on.

            "Hey, wait a minute…" Bastion mused. He reached out for a particularly large missile and snatched it. The momentum almost caused him to release his hold, but he latched onto it tightly, and it paid off. He could control the missile. Climbing on top of it, he was now surfing the air. But not for long, as this was an explosive rocket, and when it ran out of fuel or hit something it would explode. He turned the booster back around and aimed himself for Airborne Albatross. Bastion glanced down for a moment and estimated he was at 4000 feet.

            Airborne Albatross turned around and stared at what was heading his way. He panicked, and fired off his jacketed steel bullet storm in haste. The missile became riddled, and Bastion gritted his teeth. He would have to jump again, or be killed with his ride. Leaping from his missile, Bastion was on a direct course for the maverick leader. Airborne Albatross tried to fire his wingguns at Bastion and destroy the threat, but to no avail. All his ammo was gone. He tried to fire a missile, but those too had long since been exhausted. So Airborne Albatross did the only thing he could; wait for his own death to occur.

            It may sound ludicrous, but some warriors when they realize they are unable to fight any longer, simply wait calmly for death to occur. For the samurai and elite soldiers in the past, this was a part of their regimen. And now Airborne Albatross acted in just the same way.

            Bastion's beam saber sliced viciously, exposing Albatross' vital circuitry to the air, his fluids gushing from every wound . Airborne Albatross let a small smile cross his lips as he began to fall to his death.

            "I congratulate you, hunter. Your victory is well earned." The wounded maverick fell faster, his inertia dragging him beyond Bastion's reach. But his wings fell off, and due to their drag, fell slower than Albatross's main body. Bastion saw them, and reached to attain them. If he was going to land in one piece, their aerodynamic properties would be needed. With his saber turned on, Bastion took a swoop dive and snatched the empty wings. He smashed the saber's shaft down the long side of each wing, creating holes for his hands. Then he put the saber back in its holster and plunged his hands into the broken frame of his foe. He spread them out, and he could instantly feel his speed decrease.

            "I just hope I remember some of that aerodynamics training." Bastion muttered as he continued his descent. Two thousand feet, fifteen hundred, one thousand, five hundred…

            "THIS IS IT!!" Bastion cried out, spreading the wings to their max. His straight fall stopped as he glided on the wind, veering away from the ground and heading into a spiraling, gentle descent.

            Below, the 21st Hunter Unit saw a dark shape falling from the sky.

            "Who is that?" one called out in puzzlement.

            "Oh no…BASTION!!!!" another screamed in horror. But his shock was unneeded, for when the shape smashed to the ground, it was the disintegrated remains of Airborne Albatross, minus the wings. Everything had been smashed into a tiny clump of metal, the intense forces of gravity and inertia having all but eliminated any possibility of identifiable wreckage.

            "It isn't orange…it isn't Bastion." Another called out. All sighed in relief. Their leader was too smart to let such a fate befall him.

            "HEY!!! CLEAR THE WAY!!!" a loud voice called out. The 21st Unit looked up in surprise, for there to their left was gliding softly…Bastion, their commander.

            "By God, HE DID IT!!!" another called out. Instantly, the well trained Unit turned into a bunch of war-whooping fools, drunk from their success, and drunk from Bastion's survival. Bastion landed, and rolled on the ground to further decrease damage.

            His men were all over him, slapping him on the back, picking him up and parading him around like a showpiece. Bastion wearily clicked his comm on and set it for the Maverick HHQ.

            "Base, this is Bastion. Objective secured. ISP is bomb-free, and the mavericks have been eliminated. And tell Hazil I may need some sedative after this one." ON the other end, Cain chuckled.

            "Good for you, Bastion. It's good to see that someone is living up to their expectations. Hazil will give you a nice long nap in the recharge chamber, just come home. And by the way, did you happen to obtain anything of Airborne Albatross's?" Bastion looked down to see the wings still hanging from his arms.

            "Yeah, just his wings. Saved my bacon, they did. But DAMN! They were packing heat before he ran out!"

            "Weapons, eh?" Cain mused. "I may be able to give you something. Report back to base."

            "Roger, HQ. We're coming home." Bastion said, then clicked off his comm. He turned to his men and barked out an order.

            "Aww, come on guys! Put me down!"

            X had undertaken a long walk but it was worth it. Checking the time, he saw it was 2:00. Perfect. He could just make the afternoon tour, for there a mile ahead stood the dark outline of Cossack's castle, the only building for miles. All else was wasteland.

            "At last. Now I'll get my answers." X said, his face a stone expression. Checking the yellow bandanna which hung loosely from his neck, he set out at a jog to reach his goal.

            And his answers were not far.


	13. A Shock To The System

**_MEGA MAN X:END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM**

            Covered in a heavy coat X had found lying on the ground, X was fully covered. Now no one could tell he was a reploid, just a small kid in a big floppy coat. X preferred it that way; he hated recognition. When people discovered who he was, they would throng around him, trapping him in a circle of people. His usual escape was a warp, but if they got too close he wouldn't for he feared he might warp a part of them as well.

            To further his disguise, he had sent back his helmet, letting his dark black hair wave freely in the cold wind. X shivered, for because he could feel he felt the cold. He could not be made uncomfortable, but it still affected him just the same. He stood in the back of a line, and at the front lay the huge doors that guarded the interior of Cossack's Citadel. The person in front of him turned around, his face in a smile.

            "Hello, youngster. Did you come on the tour?" X thought for a moment, then gave an answer he thought would fit his appearance.

            "No way, gramps! I'm here for the heck of it!" he put on a snotty grin, and his image was complete. The man frowned, then turned around, grumbling. X smiled. He had kept his identity hidden.

            Just then, the doors creaked open, and a robot stepped out. Or more precisely, hopped out. His green coloring starkly contrasted that of the grayish castle walls.

            "Hello there. I am Toad Man, a robot of Dr. Cossack's. Welcome to his castle. Would you like to take the tour?"" he asked. But X knew that it was all programmed. Toad Man was from another age, when robots only could go as far as their programming, when the human thought process and complete control was not within a robot's grasp. But maybe Mega Man came the closest…

            X was jolted back to reality as the line moved ahead. He jogged to catch up and entered the eerie interior. When he had gone in, the fat robot Toad Man brushed some dust off himself, then pulled the doors shut.

            Zero once again found himself in the rumble room, and the dank walls reeked of death. Zero estimated he had destroyed over twenty maverick leaders so far, which is quite an accomplishment. But even reploids, even the most bloodthirsty ones get tired of killing, and Zero was feeling his systems crying out for relief.

            "No more…please, no more." Zero pleaded, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as a new foe was shoved into the room. It was dark in the interior, and Zero could not fully make out who it was. Had Sigma been jolted to a sense of bitterness by the destruction of Vile? Zero could only guess. Still, something had happened, when Zero felt himself slipping from his mind. He could fully remember every horrifying moment of his maverick fury, but there was nothing he could do to control it. It was like someone had stuck a remote control unit on him and sent in into a fury attack which he could not stop. Perhaps a word to describe what Zero felt taking over him was…darkness. Pure darkness, one which you cannot pierce with light. One in which you are left alone, just you and the endless, hopeless infinity. If there was an interpretation for hell, Zero's was that darkness.

            "You will get more, my reploid friend." Sigma's voice was loud and humorless. Zero reached a conclusion. Yes, Sigma had been brought to his senses, and the crazy storm of insanity that had plagued him was gone. But Zero groaned, his thoughts turning from the inside of his mind to his surroundings. Another victim had been placed in front of him, and it was kill or be killed.

            "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS???" Zero cried, pounding his fists against the hard walls. Fluid, a reploid's tears, came from the corners of his eyes and blurred his vision. Sigma looked on from above, a stone face his only emotional attachment. And behind him stood a simple maverick troop.

            The troop was green, and his name was Wycost. At least, that is what he remembered. His past was a blur, and so was his current state. A mind when it is tainted by a Maverick's thoughts loses the calm thought processes of a normal reploid. But Wycost had enough sense to realize Sigma had only one goal in mind; to force Zero's transformation. He remembered what Sigma had said to him earlier, just before Zero's next robot had been brought in.

            "Wycost, do you still have that Repliforce blank in storage?" Wycost had nodded solemnly. After his outburst in which Sigma had killed another maverick troop, Wycost had taken no chances of him suffering the same fate. Sigma had simply said then,

            "Get it out and boot it up. After what just happened, I think I found his trigger." Wycost had given a salute, and then headed into the storage room, his black boots and jade helmet glinting in the darkness.

            And now it was that same blank that stood before Zero.

            A blank is the reconstructed body of a reploid or maverick, minus the control chip that gives a reploid its personality. When a blank is formed, it literally becomes nothing more than a normal, programmable robot. But they do have their advantages. You can make as many as you want, they are always loyal to their programming, and they hold the speed and powers of the actual model.

            When the lights became brighter, Zero could make out more and more of the figure's shape. Blue and pink form, female construction, long brown hair…**_NO!_**

            Zero gasped in disbelief. The figure that stood before him was none other than of his lost love, Iris. And this one had a deathmask, a blank stare with hollow eyes. No glint of personality, but in his weakened condition, Zero could not see that. All he saw was Iris.

            "Well, get to it then. Zero, DESTROY IRIS!!!" Zero dropped to his knees and smashed his head against the wet stone floor. His helmet's crystal cracked from the blow, and he shot his hands into the air. His mouth slowly opened as his eyes shut, and a low noise, much akin to gurgling came out of it. Then it grew louder and louder, until one could fully see Zero was crying out, crying out all the tensions and emotions, the pent-up sorrow and torment he had suffered. The lonely cries filled the room, and spilled out into the halls, filling the facility with the noise. The cry mingled with Sigma's laughter, and to Wycost's view, he felt nothing but cruelty.

            And the taste of it was sickening.

             Hazil and Dr. Cain had been working for hours, reconfiguring the remnants of Airborne Albatross into Bastion's systems.

            "Aww, come on. Aren't you guys done yet?" Bastion grumbled. He was lying on his stomach, a position no one like to take. Cain sighed, then replied,

            "Yes, Bastion. Just one more connection and we're done." Hazil took out his welding torch and finished attaching the final piece.

            "All right, Doctor Cain. That finishes it." He said, giving a slight smile as he rolled back and put his tools away. Cain grabbed Bastion's arm and lifted him up.

            "Bastion, run an internal scan on your weapons and thrust systems." Bastion shut his eyes and did a self-diagnostic. But where he should see only a fuel gauge for basic boot thrusters, there was a second meter. And he had a weapons meter as well, listed as…Powerstorm?

            Cain smiled as Bastion opened his eyes. "Well, what do you think?" Bastion shook his head.

            "What are they?" Cain coughed and took on an official sounding tone.

            "The extra thrust meter is for your permanent jetpack. Hazil and I managed to get the software and extra systems parts for it. When you jump, the wings will open. It will only take a simple thought by you to activate the thrusters. The fuel is Hydrogen-Oxygen based. You can refill it by just letting the outside air be your supply, or if you are in a bigger hurry, just fill up with a gallon of water. Your fusion reactor will provide the energy to disassemble the water into the necessary fuels. Your attack, Powerstorm as we called it, works along similar lines. When you use it, your wings will spread out an even greater distance and launch a barrage of shrapnel rounds. Think of it as you being a grenade without you blowing up, you'll get the idea. If you charge it, the projectiles will become charged plasma bolts, hence Powerstorm. That fills up along with your thruster systems. It seems Airborne Albatross had the both of his systems working in conjunction. We couldn't overcome that little problem." Bastion turned to a mirror and looked at his new gear. When the wings were fully outstretched, he looked like an angel clad in orange and light red…a dark angel. Bastion tested the wing's pneumatic flexing.

            "No wonder he couldn't fire any more shots…if he had, he couldn't have kept himself in the air!" Bastion suddenly realized. Cain smugly handed him a data card.

            "Now that you're set to go, there's a new assignment for you. It seems a maverick by the name of Megavolt Meerkat has taken over the New Tokyo Power Plant." Bastion frowned. The Tokyo Power Plant was one of the few left in the world that still ran on nuclear fission power, which had long since been proven obsolete by fusion. Still, fission gave materials for fusion, so there was no long-term storage of waste. That meant if he went in, he'd have to be careful of what he slashed at. One wrong slice and he could sever cooling hoses, destroy radiation shields, ruin safety precautions of every kind…if Megavolt and his people had not done so already.

            "Obviously, just sending in a whole Unit would be useless. Seeing as Zero is still being held GOD KNOWS WHERE and X is off on his spirit walk; that leaves you in charge. So the question is; what will you do?" Cain asked. Bastion thought for a moment. All he knew, everything that he strived by to be a leader came from Zero's calm presence and X's missing words of wisdom. Then he reached a decision, one based not on what he had learned, **but what he knew.**

            Bastion reached behind him and checked his beam saber. The new jetpack also had a neat hole at the top for it, and the handle stuck out just enough so he could reach it. He walked over to medical supplies and opened the metallic shelf door. He pulled out an energy shield and a Sub-Tank, activating both. Then he packed away several PTUs. The Sub-Tank would wait in his chest compartment, until such a time as he needed the operations energy. The energy shield would probably be of great benefit; Bastion could almost smell that the weapons he would face would be energy based.

            "I'm going in alone. I'd ask for help, but my troops still need training, and a solo mission stands as a greater chance of success." Cain smiled. Even if Bastion was new, he learned fast, and his attitude was one Cain liked. It almost reminded him of Jim Dacker…

            Cain snapped back to reality as Bastion threw him a salute. Cain motioned for him to leave, and Bastion warped out, his destination within mere miles.

            "During the time of Mega Man, Dr. Cossack was a widely known robot expert. Not as quite as brilliant as Dr. Light, but then again he was younger than the elderly Light." X and the other tourists were being led down the halls of the Citadel by Bright Man, who used his bright bulb to light the way. Bright Man could have blinded them, but he was cautious to only produce as much light as a 100 Watt bulb. Anything more was dangerous, and X knew that Mega Man had had a tough go at it when he fought Bright Man, even with the Rain Flush. Just then, a tourist spoke up.

            "Tell me Bright Man. Why did you and the rest of Dr. Cossack's robots challenge Mega Man?" Bright Man turned around and smiled. In a programmed response, he replied,

            "Dr. Wily had captured Dr. Cossack's daughter, Kalinka. Dr. Cossack had no choice but to go along with the sinister scheme. Mega Man was challenged, but he managed to defeat us and came close to defeating Cossack himself. But just as Mega Man was about to deliver the final attack, another of Light's creations known as Protoman warped in, accompanied by the young child. Cossack instantly ceased his attack and Mega Man went on to defeat Wily once more. Since then, we have been working ceaselessly in the Citadel." The man smiled and raised his camera. Bright Man's smile widened as he raised his hands.

            "A photograph? Delighted. Here, I'll even provide the flash." His bulb went off in a powerful burst of light, and the camera snapped. X blinked, but when he focused in, everyone else was rubbing their eyes.

            "Umm, is something the matter?" Bright Man asked, his smile vanishing into concern. The people were rubbing their eyes constantly, and griping. X turned to him.

            "You ruined thei..our night vision. Now our eyes must become reaccustomed to the darkness." But X knew he was accustomed to the sudden light change, and it frightened him to realize he had almost said **their. **He had almost blown his cover. Bright Man clapped his hands together.

            "I am terribly sorry. Here, I believe this will help." His bulb became brighter and brighter, until the people could look up. The hallway was now well lit and everyone smiled again. "Is that better? Good. Now, if you will follow me you can come to our gift shop. We are running a special on mini-robot figurines. I highly suggest you pick up the one that has the bulb on the top of it's head." Everyone chuckled at the programmed egotistical phrase. X and the others walked down the hallway, to the end of the tour and to an unknown future.

            Bastion had warped in, only to be hit with a powerful beam of electricity by a cannon that had recently been installed in the plant. As a matter of fact, Bastion could see two mavericks not too far away installing more. They saw him and panicked, pulling out their X-Busters for a fight.

            "No,no. Put the weapons away, boys." Bastion said as he pulled out his beam saber and dashed towards them. Before they could squeeze off a single shot, Bastion had flown past them and sliced their cannons to ribbons. He turned to face the trembling pair.

            "Listen up. I don't want to kill you." They looked at each other, and then back at Bastion. But Bastion's fist was in mid-swing, and he coldclocked the both of them in short time. He pulled out two PTUs and placed them on the stasis minded mavericks. Pushing the transfer button, he stepped back and watched as they warped out of the lair and back to the Maverick HHQ Detention Area. Bastion shook his head and checked the power on his energy shield.

            "Great. That took off 10%." Bastion had chose to send them back for two reasons; they did not pose an immediate threat to him because they were disarmed, and two because X had taught him that life, even maverick life, is precious. "Ahh, X. Have I learned so much?" Bastion mused. He checked the bag of cannon parts the two had been carrying. Shuffling around the contents, he found what he was looking for. With a smile he took the operations energy pellet and stuck it in his chest compartment. His energy shield gained a full recharge, and then the hollow casing popped out lightly, where the frame would disintegrate into dust within hours. Energy capsules had been designed to be biodegradable when their charge was gone for years now.

            "All right." Bastion pulled a map out of the bag and ruffled through it. Memorizing the layout, he set off on a jog. Megavolt Meerkat was guarding the main reactor, which meant a fight would have to be take carefully. While he went, he pulled out another PTU and set the destination coordinates for the Sun's orbit. If it got messy, he could send the reactor away where it would be harmless. Bastion chuckled. Yes, he was getting better at this.

            Wycost was in his room thinking. Well, it wasn't exactly his room, he thought to himself. He shared it with three others, but right now none were present. His mind was jumbled with thoughts…and memories.

            He seemed to recall something about his past before he was infected…what was that?

            "Why can't I remember?" Wycost groaned, pounding his jade helmet with a tightened fist. The memories he sought were close by, but being hidden…hidden by the maverick virus. He got up from his bunk and paced around his room. "Focus, Wycost. Focus." But he couldn't. Zero's torment kept haunting him. How could Zero resist it? How could Zero continually resist the supreme power of the maverick virus? More importantly, why?

            **That isn't me talking, **Wycost remembered. The maverick virus was trying to control his thoughts. Wycost grimaced. Ever since he'd been infected, the blasted maverick virus had been growing stronger and stronger within him. It was to the point it took control without him realizing it. It was always there, but when things got intense it would rear its head and establish itself with a very simple series of instructions:

            **_Destroy._**

**_            Infect._**

**_            Survive._**

Wycost grasped his arm and looked at himself in the mirror. His armor was black, and so were his boots. He had a strange chevron symbol for chest armor-**wasn't that supposed to be green?**

A jolt of pain suddenly racked his systems as the maverick virus moved in. But Wycost resisted it. He was remembering, and the virus saw that as a threat.

"No…No…NO…**NO!!!"** Wycost pounded himself in the chest, and his face became contorted in pain. The virus was speaking to him, trying to make him submit. **Just relax, Wycost. I know what is best for you.** "No you don't. I WANT to remember…Go away. GO AWAY!!!" Wycost's view suddenly shifted, and there he was in the nothingness, pure darkness. Then the images flashed past him. His past…was that Brooklyn? They came so quickly…he was part of the neighborhood watch…a sudden maverick attack…tried to fight…too strong…darkness…

The images ceased to be. There he was, in a field of white. He looked down at himself. No longer was he in full blazing black, but a multicolored green, with a chevron chest plate and an X-Buster attachment. A noise alerted him, and he looked up, his cannon following by instinct. There was a hideous black mass coming fast at him, and its thoughts were chilling and cold…empty.

"Don't fight me, Wycost. It is futile. Join me again and the pain will stop." But Wycost's vision, blurred by the tears of his memories, his friends destroyed and killed fighting saw only a figure, the figure responsible for everything he had come to hate. Everything that had happened was to blame because of this…the maverick virus.

"I don't care how much pain I endure." Wycost choked out. His cannon began to gain its charge as the plasma clustered around the main energy discharge port. He raised it up, the blinding yellow cloud of particles partially blinding him. But he still saw it. The maverick virus, a hideous array of tubes and metallic pieces, the assimilated bits of its victims now bonded with the sinister insides. "I don't care how long the fight goes on…if you take even ONE more life than you have…I CANNOT ALLOW THAT!!!" Wycost's X-Buster finished charging and he fired the blast. It was immense, and it seemed to feed on more than plasma. It seemed to turn greenish, as if it took power from himself, his purpose…his potential. The shot struck true, and the black mass disintegrated, screaming in agony as it did. And then Wycost was left alone in the light.

His eyes opened as they focused. He got up and gasped and looked around. He had not moved, for he was still in his room. So what was that he had just gone through…Wycost stopped and stared at the figure in the mirror. It was him, but his armor was green, a dark green, but a green nonetheless. He had destroyed the maverick virus, and now he was once again a free reploid. A smile crossed his face, a pure smile. Not one of hatred, or of a hard-won fight, or one of cruelty as you watch your victim die by your hands…a smile as gentle as a spring breeze, as soothing as chicken noodle soup when you are sick.

"I'm…free. I'm free." Wycost sobbed, a tear coming from his eye. He rubbed it out and examined it. "A tear…been so long since I have cried…" He burst out into sobs, but he covered his face with his arms, blocking the noise from escaping. When he felt better, he suddenly realized how much danger he was in. If Sigma or the others found him, he would be re-infected.

Wycost, a clean reploid once more, had to escape.

            Bastion was making quick tracks, but it was tough going. He wondered how X had survived the original trip when Spark Mandrill was running this place back during the First Maverick Uprising. Around every turn, one of those giant Spark Skimmers would come whistling by and almost knock him into a recycling pit.

            "Nasty buggers, those are." Bastion mused. He checked his power-80% remaining. Not too good, but then again he was almost done. He could see the sliding doors to the main reactor close by. But the Spark Skimmers with their glowing trails were being unmerciful. He hopped up another wall, only to be knocked back down by a Spark Skimmer. And he was too far away from the wall to make the leap. Bastion had one option left; his jetpack.

            "Cain, if you did this wrong, I'll see you in hell!" Bastion cried out as he activated the thrusters. Instantly, his velocity shifted and he could feel his internal motors being bounced upwards as the powerful thrust sent him back up the way he came. "Hey, IT WORKED!" Bastion laughed. He landed on the ledge and deactivated the thruster, dropping lightly. But his praise was short lived, as every skimmer in the room was making tracks for his location. Bastion frowned. Perhaps the Whirling Slash…but they'd be in too close. Then the other enhancement popped in his mind. He spread his purple wings out farther, and crouched. And the Spark Skimmers approached. Bastion's face was covered in anger and his hands shook wildly.

            "So you want me? COME AND GET IT, YOU CRAZY BOTS!!!" Bastion's scream of power and finished by a powerful explosion as his mighty wings fired off their weapon…the Powerstorm. The flying metal shrapnel, charge with plasma energy created an enormous storm, one in which the Spark Skimmers could not fly. They were sliced and segmented in every possible fashion, the flying shards cutting them to ribbons. And then they all crashed. Bastion got up and looked around. Nothing to be seen but an empty chamber and smoking piles of debris. Bastion smiled, but his smile vanished when he saw his meters.

            "Great. 50% operating power, and 70% Powerstorm energy." Bastion set off to search through the rubble for any energy capsules his foes might have in their innards. Bastion allowed himself a smirk.

            Even with all the energy losses, it was quite a show.

            Wycost walked into the armaments room, looking around cautiously. No one was in it, and no one had seen him come in. But he had to move fast. Speed was his greatest enemy right now. He quickly walked over and picked up an X-Buster. After scanning it, he was satisfied to realize it was not infected. He stuck his arm in the hole and activated it. Instantly it clamped on and melded with his systems, until his hand emerged from the cannon's socket and the entire system had turned into the bulge that was recognized with X-Busters. Opening up another drawer, he pulled out an arm bracelet. It was designed to cover his other arm, giving him a symmetrical look. But he knew this one had the added benefit of being able to deflect plasma with its high density metals. A leftover from the time of Velguarder's body, this metal in the armbands was one of the most highly prized items in the maverick's inventory. It too was not infected. Wycost completed his loadout with two Sub-Tanks, which filled his chest compartment to its maximum. Wycost felt a sense of security, even if the odds were still stacked against him. But he had more than weapons to work with; he had revenge.

            Revenge for his friends, killed and destroyed by the maverick forces. Wycost could fully recall it, those vivid, horrifying images. He had been called to action when the maverick general known as Nitro Narwhal was rampaging through the New York area. But him and his neighborhood watch area were too weak to handle them, and Wycost had been infected and enslaved.**Enslaved.**Yes, that was the right word. And for them, Wycost would fight.

            "My friends…you won't have died in vain."Wycost muttered.

            "Who are you talking to?" Wycost's voice was interrupted by a foreign one, and he wheeled around. It was a basic troop, unarmed but curious. "What are you doing here?" Wycost grumbled, trying to pass himself off as he remembered he had been like.

            "I am running inventory on our stock of weapons." The maverick's eyes narrowed.

            "**I** do the inventory." Wycost dropped the act and shifted. No longer was he going to hide, it was not possible. He could only fight. His face turned to stone as he raised his right hand and it shifted seamlessly into the X-Buster. The maverick gasped, and his mouth opened in surprise and fear.

            "Fine then. Inventory this." Wycost calmly released his shot. He wished he didn't have to, but the guy was wising up and his escape was in danger. Of course, now it really was. Everyone had heard the powerful plasma shot, and even as the one maverick was slumping to the floor, a hole in his chest, Wycost could hear more on the way. He needed a diversion. His eyes scanned the room quickly, but they fell upon a crate of hand grenades. Wycost smiled and pulled one out of the box, making sure to spread the rest on the floor. He shot off the metal grate on the shaft above, then leaped into it. He clicked the activation button, then dropped the terrible bomb. Quickly he scuffled through the tunnels, and he could hear the other mavericks screaming as the explosion destroyed them. Klaxons were wailing furiously now, but Wycost continued until he reached the main chamber. The room was empty, and Wycost could see Sigma going down the tunnel to the armaments room. He dropped out of the shaft and made a dash for the exit tunnel. But it would take him through Zero's chamber.

            When he burst through the door, Zero slumped against the exit made a strong impression on him.

            "You have to move, pal! I'm getting out of here!" Zero looked up, weakened but still able to think. He looked at this crazed green reploid, but he couldn't tell just which side he was on. Wycost waited, then groaned and pulled out a Sub-Tank, tossing it to Zero.

            "There you are. Now MOVE IT!" Zero rolled away from the door and stuck the Sub-Tank in his chest, instantly draining the energy and claiming full vitality. Wycost raised his X-Buster and fired off a powerful shot, destroying the door and opening his gateway to freedom. But Zero was already making a break for it. Wycost cursed at him, then made a break for it. But as he did, he could hear the voices getting louder behind him.

            "Out this way! Isn't that where…ZERO!!!" Wycost didn't wait to hear any more, he just ran. And caught up to Zero. Both made furious strides through the sewers, but Wycost saw it was pretty clear Zero hadn't the foggiest notion where he was going.

            "Hey you! You must be Zero." Zero turned his head back and looked at the green reploid again.

            "And you would be who?" Wycost grunted as he hit another dash, moving in front of the fiery red Hunter.

            "I'm Wycost." Zero was about to respond when he made a side dash and pushed Wycost to the wall. A barrage of powerful plasma bursts whistled through the air where they had just been standing.

            "SHIT!" Zero cried. "They're coming!" Wycost smashed the wall in. An exit to the streets wasn't far.

            "So, why exactly is Sigma going to all this trouble to make you fight again?" Wycost asked as Zero caught up with him. Zero's eyes narrowed as he tried to block the painful images that flooded his mind.

            "He's trying to turn me into one of you." Wycost snapped back,

            "I'M NOT A MAVERICK. I am a pure reploid." Zero blinked, then replied,

            "So what were you doing there?" Wycost shouted in pain as a hit struck him in the back. His green armor became charred with the ferocity of the attack.

            "I was a maverick, but somehow I managed to delete the virus." Zero shook his head in disbelief.

            "NO ONE can delete the virus. It's too strong!" Wycost shrugged as he fired his X-Buster straight up towards the roof.

            "Apparently I did. And you're welcome for the Sub-Tank, by the way." Zero grumbled. Thanks were never his thing. Both made great wall jumps up the new hole until the entered the street. But when they emerged, mavericks already had their guns trained on them. "Oh, great. SO FREAKIN' CLOSE!!!" Zero raised his hands, and Wycost willingly let his X-Buster shift back into his hand. But Zero turned to him and whispered,

            "Stand close by me." Wycost blinked, then raised his own hands and moved next to Zero. Just then, Sigma popped out of the hole and struck a pose, his face contorted in rage.

            "So, it seems we have been betrayed by one of our own. And you freed Zero as well, eh, Wycost?" Wycost spat at Sigma, then spoke loudly.

            "I'll never work with you again. You'll have to scrap me first!" Sigma smiled.

            "I thought you'd never ask. Troops, OPEN FIRE!!!" Wycost shut his eyes, preparing himself for his death, but it was not needed, for Zero's warp transfer managed to get a full scan, and both Zero and Wycost escaped their doom, warping to the Maverick HHQ. The maverick troops managed to successfully fire at each other before they went down, writhing and moaning from their wounds. Sigma became even more enraged, destroying three maverick troops before he dropped back into his hole.

            "You can run, Zero. But I will always be with you. I can always reach you."

            X was walking around the gift shop very slowly, pretending to look at everything. But he didn't need or want anything, besides what he came for. And it seemed this place was a bust. He pulled up his yellow bandanna and readjusted it, but he caught the eye of the woman who was running the checkout counter. But she wasn't staring at him; she was staring at the bandanna.

            She stared for what seemed minutes, and then she moved her head up to look at X's face. He merely stared back, as he thought an egotistical 15 year old would do. But her stare was not one of horror, or a stare of disbelief. It was like she was remembering something…something from her past. X turned his head and walked over to the miniature robots, pretending to examine each enthusiastically. But his escape was short lived, for a gentle yet trembling hand grasped his shoulder. X turned around; it was the same woman.

            If X had been human, he would have found her attractive. She was very pretty, despite her age, with thinning blonde hair, a nicely proportioned face, wearing a black woolen cap that gave her an air of mystery. She smiled and pointed to X's scarf.

            "Where did you get that?" X pulled on it and clamped tightly to it.

            "I got it from a friend of mine." The woman blinked, then reached out to feel it. "What's so special about it?" the woman looked up as her hand grasped the yellow cloth, and she shook her head, in a way that X could not tell if it was joy or sorrow.

            "Nothing much, really. It just reminds me of someone I knew when I was a little girl." X blinked. A woman in her sixties could be quite a looker these days. X pushed on with his questions; if he was going to get anywhere, he had to be assertive.

            "Oh really? Who?" the woman smiled again.

            "If you want to know handsome, stay behind after the others leave and I'll tell you." She reached behind X and patted him on his tush. X thought she might realize the truth, but in her lustful state she smiled dreamily.

            "Rock hard bottom. Ooh, I like that." X laughed lightly, trying to hide his embarassment. The woman walked back to the counters and finished ringing up the sales. Then she put a closed sign on the counter and activated Drill Man, who waited patiently in the corner. The red robot walked over and smiled to the tourists.

            "We thank you for choosing to visit Dr. Cossacks' Citadel today. Now if you will follow me, we can get you back to your buses. And as an added bonus for you only, we will give each of you… a bumper sticker!!!" Drill Man enthusiastically held up a pile of plastic rectangles that said,

            "I braved the Citadel!" X had to stifle a laugh. How could someone so brilliant die, only to leave behind a slow tourist industry behind him? But the tourists happily accepted and left, leaving X and the woman behind in the room. She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him.

            "So, you want to know who saved me? I'll tell you in the morning." X realized he had to end this now.

            "Ma'am, what's your name?" the woman giggled.

            "Why, I'm Kalinka." X blinked. Could she be…

            "And I…am Dr. Light's last creation." X stepped back and took off his overcoat, to reveal his true form to the woman. Kalinka gasped as she suddenly realized who stood before her.

            "I am Mega Man X."

            Bastion ducked, narrowly avoiding a powerful electric bolt that snaked across the room. He was facing Megavolt Meerkat, and the minute maverick was showing no signs of letting up. It was taking every escape maneuver Bastion knew to keep himself alive.

            "Rar! Just stay put so I can HIT YA!!" the wily electrical rodent cried out. Bastion blocked his latest beam with a well-timed saber block. Then he dashed to the side and leaped off the wall. Megavolt Meerkat shrunk his body, preparing for a jump to smash Bastion in midair. Bastion flipped off the wall, doing a backflip. This was when Megavolt made his leap.

            "Aha! Knew you'd do that, you crazy rat!" Bastion cried, pulling out his beam saber. He activated his jetpack and was boosted out of Megavolt's flight path. But as Bastion flew away, he made a vicious slice with his saber, cutting off Megavolt's tail. Bastion cursed. He had been aiming for the head. But Megavolt cried out in pain and dropped to the floor, writhing in agony. Bastion deactivated his thrusters and guarded himself from another possible attack, but it was not needed.

            "You…you insolent whelp!" Megavolt sputtered, getting up. He made to leap at Bastion, but he slipped and lost his balance, skidding along the ground. Bastion blinked, then jumped out of the way, slashing at the slippery demon in the process. Megavolt continued along until he crashed into the opposite wall. Bastion suddenly realized what had happened, and he laughed wildly.

            "You've lost your balance!" Megavolt got up and fumed. But Bastion knew his construction as a representation of a meerkat depended upon his mobile tail to balance himself. With it removed by Bastion's winning tactic, the maverick had only one attack left.

            "I'll show you!! NO ONE CAN SURVIVE MY THUNDERSTORM!!!" Megavolt Meerkat raised his hands and began to charge an immense burst of electrical power. But Bastion knew how to handle the situation.

            He crouched down, preparing to release Powerstorm into the fray. But he did not charge it, nor did he give the particle generators sufficient time to build up velocity to shrapnel. Instead, when it launched it was nothing more than a large cloud of metallic chunks and dust that floated through the air, wafting towards Megavolt Meerkat. But Bastion grimaced. If this didn't work, or the damage went beyond his enemy, the reactor and the city would be in danger. Just as a precaution, he pulled out his PTU he had set up earlier and grasped it in his free hand.

            The small but wiry warrior cried out in rage as his hands released the powerful attack. But because Bastion had released the metallic cloud, it was that to which the attack was attracted to, not the Hunter. The electricity snaked through the cloud viciously, attacking Megavolt Meerkat in the process. His open wounds gave an inviting doorway for the powerful current, and soon Bastion cringed as the room filled with smoke, moved only by a large explosion that soon followed. Bastion ducked the flying chunks of debris and dashed over to the reactor wall. His hand ran over the surface, and he sighed in relief.

            Not a scratch. Bastion turned to the remains of his foe and searched the mess. His face lit up as he picked up the most promising chunk; his tail. Automatic fans kicked into action, pulling the smoke from the room, and Bastion could see the area clearly. Charred marks were everywhere where Megavolt's attacks had crashed into. Bastion whistled, then investigated himself. Every part of him checked out…

            Except his head. When he moved his hand towards his head, he did not feel the smooth layer of metal polymers, but instead…something soft and stringy. Bastion walked over to a mirror nearby and brushed aside the smoke. He laughed as he saw himself. His helmet's top had been blasted off, and beneath it lay a large layer of brown hair, wavy and hanging off to the sides. He pulled off the rest of his helmet and stared at it. It looked a lot like the stuff people wore in wrestling.

            "Yech! I gotta change that." Bastion cringed. But still he thought, this wasn't a bad look for him. After making one last lookover of the area and removing the last of the maverick weapons, Bastion warped back to base.

            When he arrived, things were pretty quiet at base. In fact, the only place Bastion saw action besides the rec room was the medical facility. Oh well, he needed to get tuned up.

            But the sight that imposed itself on him when he entered the room was one beyond what he could have expected. There, Cain and Hazil were standing over a familiar figure, with blond hair and red armor.

            "OH MY GOD!!! ZERO!!" Bastion cried. He ran over and looked at him. Zero was in stasis, and could not hear him. Cain grabbed him by the shoulder.

            "He'll be all right. But this guy has been through hell and back. He's lucky he made it here in the first place!" Bastion gulped, brushing back his hair. Cain stared at it for a while, and shrugged. Reploids can do weird things sometimes.

            "So, how did he escape?" Hazil pointed one of his many arms over at a figure who sat with his head in his arms, an X-Buster laying beside him on the cot. Bastion walked over and looked at him for a while.

            "YOU saved Zero?" the figure looked up, his jade helmet contrasting with his dark green chevron armor plate.

            "Yeah. So, what's it to ya?" Bastion slapped him across the back and wrapped him in a giant bearhug.

            "I thank you, my friend! You have saved one of our best troops from certain death!" The figure pushed Bastion back, a look of horror on his face.

            "Geez, what are you? Anyways, they weren't going to kill him, pal." The figure grabbed Bastion by his neck and pulled him down to eye level. "**They were going to turn him into a maverick.**" The figure released Bastion and sighed.

            "I'm Wycost, and I want to join you guys here." Bastion rubbed his neck and nodded.

            "Pleased to meet you, Wycost. I am Bastion, commander of the 21st Maverick Hunter Unit. But I must tell you now, you must go through basic training before we decide your true capabilities." Wycost's nostrils flared and he looked at Bastion with cold eyes of disgust.

            "BASIC TRAINING!! You want basic training…" Wycost reached to his other arm and pulled off his arm bracelet, throwing it into the air. With one fluid movement, he grabbed his X-Buster and activated it. Quickly, he squeezed off shot after shot, keeping the piece airborne until he lowered his cannon. The arm bracelet clattered to the floor, smoking from the severity of the attack. Wycost unhooked his X-Buster and crushed it in his hand. "THERE's your basic training, Bastion." Bastion could only stare in shock and amazement, but finally he made his left arm reach out to grasp Wycost's.

            "Welcome aboard, Wycost. Anything we can do for you?" Wycost nodded his head.

            "Yeah. I want my armor cleaned up, OK? Totally green, in differing shades. The schematics are in my long-term databanks if you need them." Wycost looked behind Bastion, to see Cain and Hazil quivering in fright. Wycost opened his eyes and put on his best innocent face, like one a kid would use if he knew he had gotten into the cookie jar, and there was chocolate stains all over his face. Raising his hands in a cry of surprise, he said,

            "What?"


	14. Friends Anew

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

CHAPTER TWELVE: FRIENDS ANEW

"He's right this way, although I'm not sure how he'll respond," Kalinka spoke. She was leading the discovered X down through the dark halls of the lower Citadel, beyond the tour's bounds.

            "I don't care, just as long as he's still alive. I cam here for answers, and from what I know, Cossack is the only one who can help me get them." X's face was grim, but his outlook was good. He had made it this far and he wouldn't stop yet. His white and golden armor brightly glinted off the dim lights of the tunnel. X lifted his face to beyond the old, but attractive woman and stared at the endless darkness.

            "So tell me Kalinka, why did you make a pass at me?" Kalinka visibly blushed, and X almost dropped the question. But Kalinka spoke up.

            "You looked pretty cute. I swore you were at least eighteen, just very boyish." X raised his eyebrows.

            "So, you do this often? Geez, things must get pretty lonely." Kalinka smacked him on the back of the head. "Oww!" X cried out, rubbing his tender helmet. Kalinka kept going.

            "When I want to do something, I just go to Moscow. But the rest of the time, I run the tourist shop here. And you are right, things get lonely." Her eyes glazed over and stared at the darkness ahead. "The only reason I stay is because of my father. He's too old to be by himself, even with his helpers." X kept walking.

            "At least you HAVE a father to take care of. Mine's dead." Kalinka winced, and then walked over to a statue of Cossack. Shaking the statue's hand, the wall behind the statue slid open and Kalinka walked inside. X followed. Now he was closer than ever to his goal.

While X was walking through tunnels in search of answers, Wycost was back at Maverick HHQ. He was looking at himself in the mirror, with his freshly painted green armor. He smiled from ear to ear as he saw his brilliant colors shining once more.

            "Hah! Man, I had almost forgotten how goood I look! If only those blasted mavericks could see me now…" his smile disappeared, and Wycost suddenly realized why he was here. "Don't worry my friends…I'll get your revenge." He looked over at his X-Buster, also colored green, but with a streak of black running down the long axis…the only thing that remained of his maverick period; a stark reminder of the evil and hatred that had once been all he knew. He rotated his wrists and pulled his right hand back into his X-Buster. Checking the discharge barrel for scouring, he was satisfied to note it was clean. But the noise of a door opening made him turn around.

            It was Bastion. Looking like all of fall with his colorings and the dark purple Powerstorm jetpack armor, he was an imposing sight. But Bastion was smiling weakly.

            "Well, Wycost. Welcome to my unit. I was very impressed with your display, but you might have chosen a better spot to hold it in. Cain and Hazil were a bit frazzled." Wycost grunted.

            "Nice rhyme. So, where can one test out his full abilities around here?" Bastion raised a thumb towards the rec room.

            "Full maverick simulation. I've already checked out an hour for you. I'll be assisting." Wycost started walking towards the door.

            "I don't need any help. Just upgrade my dash boots for max ground thrust, and I'll be all right." Wycost slammed the door open and stepped out. Bastion shook his head.

            "He's hiding something. Or he doesn't want to remember it. In any case, there's something about him…I just can't place it." Bastion walked out the door, following his young hotheaded warrior.

            If he stood up well in training, he might stand a chance in battle. If his anger didn't get him killed first.

            Cain and Hazil were looking over Zero. They had given him a full recharge, complete with a new beam saber and an armor pain job.

            "You look better than you did when you came in." Hazil grunted, pulling out a scanner. He turned it on and scanned Zero. Suddenly, a powerful bleeping signal emanated from it, and Hazil raised his eyebrows in surprise. Cain looked over and gasped.

            "What the hell…MAVERICK?" Zero got up and looked at them, wondering why they were so shocked.

            "What did you find, Doc?" Cain stared at him and backed off a few steps.

            "The scanner says you've been infected…how did that happen?" Zero looked down, and ignored the question for a while. Then he looked up with a pained stare.

            "Do you really want to know?" Cain nodded, his face hard. He trusted Zero, but this...Zero cleared his throat.

            "Now a lot of this surprised me too, OK? I'll tell you, but remember that I'm fully a hunter here." Cain crossed his arms. "Sigma…he kidnapped me and he dragged me down into the sewers for a new plan of his."

            "Which would be?" Hazil asked warily. Zero put his hand on his helmet and looked down.        

            "He tried to turn me into a Maverick…"

            "For days I was tormented. I faced maverick leader after reconstructed maverick leader, each time the maverick virus inside of me trying to escape and command. As I fought, I grew weaker and weaker, but always I stopped it by pushing back with all my inner power. Then Sigma caused me to snap, and it finally won me over." Zero cradled his long hair and laughed. "The crazy bastard got more than what he expected. Not only did I scare all of them, but Vile was destroyed. Then it went back to the same cycle, until that crazy dark green guy showed up and helped me to escape. I got the feeling he did it only so I would stay out of his way. And I came back here." Cain whistled.

            "You're right. That IS a load to deal with. And I will need some consideration." Zero blinked.

            "Consideration? For what?" Cain picked up his walking stick and coughed.

            "To see if you are still fit to command. The consensus will be taken tomorrow." Zero couldn't believe his ears, for what Cain was proposing what his possible resignation. When a Maverick Hunter is considered to be a risk, all available personnel are assembled, and they take a vote. If it is voted for excusal, that Maverick Hunter is taken out of his position, and in severe cases disintegrated.

            "Hold on a sec, doc. Don't you think that's going too far?" Cain stared at him, and then Zero's situation fully sank into him. He frowned, his face twitching. "So that's how its going to be, huh?" he slammed his fist on the bench, breaking it apart.

            "Goddamnit! I've been here since the First Maverick Uprising, AND NOW YOU DOUBT ME? You would be willing to persecute one of your best troops just because he WAS infected, but has overcome it?" Cain spoke up.

            "It's not just that, Zero. You are an exceptional hunter, I'll give you that. But you are unstable, and now I see why…You're all too prone to the Virus, and that's a critical weakness we can't afford."

            "LOOK AT ME, DOC!" Zero thrust his arms out, an expression of dismay on his face. "I've been a hunter all my life! Even if I was one, that is no reason to warrant my excusal."

            "I think it is. Report to your quarters, Zero. Security will get you tomorrow for your hearing." Zero blinked back tears. He was being abandoned by the very people he had saved and aided hundreds of times before.

            "Can I talk to X?"

            "I'm afraid not. He went off on some crusade for his missing answers, and hasn't reported back since. But that is of no concern. Now go, before I am forced to restrain you. You are under house arrest, so get moving." Zero choked out a simple sob and pounded his fist into the wall, leaving a large crater. He ran out of the door, and down the hall to his quarters.

            "X, where are you?" Zero sniffed. "I need someone to talk to."

            "What would you do if you weren't running this museum, Kalinka?" X asked as they continued. Kalinka smiled.

            "I would have gone into modeling." X laughed. She sure could have. "Here we are. Father, there is a visitor here to see you!" X looked up. A hunched figure was sitting in a wheelchair, typing into a PC.

            "Kalinka, I told you! No tourist is supposed to see this place, no matter how much money they offer you!" the man's voice was sharp and scratchy, carrying a thick Russian accent. X blinked, then spoke up.

            "Sir, I am no tourist. I have been looking for you for some time now. My name is X…" X waited as the figure turned around to face him. "Mega Man X." the man coughed, then pulled off his glasses and cleaned them off. He stared at X for a moment, then spoke up softly.

            "So, you've arrived. Light was a genius, I can see that in your frame. You look so much like Mega." X stared at this man, Dr. Cossack. He had gone so long without knowing, and now all the answers would come to him in mere minutes. Cossack was old, and crippled from the looks of his wheelchair.

            "I came here because I hoped you would be able to give me the answers I have been searching for." Cossack laughed.

            "Ah, so naïve are you. Born into this world without your answers, without knowing your creator or your past." X could not believe his ears, for Dr. Cossack seemed moody and irritable, yet very contemplative. Cossack stared at him for a while and chuckled.

            "Don't worry, X. I'm not loony, the body went before the mind. I can tell you your answers, and anything else you want to know about your past…about Mega Man and Light." X smiled and walked over to him.

            "Can I shake your hand?" Cossack smiled, then raised his. X clasped it in an embrace and shook it.

            "So what do you want to know?" X thought for a moment…so many questions to ask…

            "Are any of Light's robots still active right now?" Cossack shook his head.

            "I'm sorry, but they were all deactivated, by choice or by circumstances. I have only one thing left from them…" Cossack pushed a button on his wheelchair and the podium behind him raised. The base opened to reveal an elevator, and Cossack rolled in. "You are coming, X?" X nodded his head vigorously and walked in. The door shut and X could feel them dropping, dropping to another hidden secret.

            Wycost jumped off the wall, avoiding the powerful jump of the foreboding frame of Flame Mammoth. The holographic behemoth trumpeted in anger as he threw a ball of flammable gel at Wycost. Wycost dashed underneath the flung jelly and shot off his X-Buster, a fully charged shot. It hit true, and Flame Mammoth exploded. Then the simulation ended and Wycost found himself standing in the rec room sim chamber once more.

            "So Bastion, what was that like?" Bastion could only stare in amazement. Even if this kid was cocky and ignorant, he was a supremely skilled Buster fighter, able to handle himself and his cannon with equal discipline and expertise.

            "You did great. Recorded time for victory was underneath a minute…fifty eight seconds flat." Bastion shook his head. When X had fought the real Flame Mammoth during the First Maverick Uprising, it had taken him over five minutes, and he was severely damaged. Wycost didn't even have a scratch on him. Wycost pumped his fist and turned off his X-Buster, his other hand sliding out to form an arm, no longer the weapon of destruction. Wycost walked out of the room to look at his battle stats. Bastion, his Powerstorm flight armor lying against a chair lazily was once more a complete figure of fall, his brown hair lying back casually. Bastion shook his head again and handed Wycost the printout.

            "You're skilled enough to be a Unit Commander, at least with your battle skills." Wycost smiled widely.

            "Great! Sign me up. I assume it comes with a pay raise?" Bastion shook his head.

            "There's more to being a Unit Commander than just being an unstoppable hunter. You need logic, understanding, empathy and respect for your troops…in short, EXPERIENCE. You're new here Wycost. Give it time. You already have moved far ahead of everyone before you in rank status. Just a day and a half here, and you're already part of an elite unit. That's enough to make anyone proud." But Wycost had stopped listening long ago, and his left hand was clenched into a fist. What he had heard was that Bastion considered him untrustworthy, a loose cannon that needed to be refitted. It made him angry…

            "Hey Wycost…your X-Buster is turning black!" Bastion said in surprise. Wycost looked down to see that not only had his arm turned into the X-Buster once more, but the prominent jagged black line was spreading outwards. Wycost calmed down, more in fear than anything. Bastion stood, waiting for an answer, but Wycost merely stood there silently.

            Then the warning klaxon went off, and the doors opened. Bastion put his Powerstorm armor back on and waved a hand towards Wycost.

            "Come on, Wycost. There's a job to be done." Wycost sighed in relief and checked his arm. The black line had faded back into its thin stream once more.

            "Saved by the bell." He uttered as he ran out of the door.

            Sigma was sitting in his chair in the middle of the maverick base. He had much to think about, for so many things had happened so suddenly. Zero had escaped with the aid of a maverick named Wycost, which meant that soon their base would be infiltrated and overrun by Maverick Hunters. Something had to be done to prevent that.

            "But what option do I have?" Sigma mused. It had taken him months to set up this base, and worse he had no body to inhabit. The plans had been stored in the weapons storage room, and Wycost had blown that up. If he died, then his maverick function could not continue.

            "That just means I'll have to find another body to inhabit…but who?" Sigma pondered the question for a while. X would not do, for he was far too strong, his purpose and goal giving him the strength to overcome everything Sigma had thrown at the wily blue boy. Then it hit him, the answer was so simple, it was incredible he had not thought of it earlier.

            For weeks now, he had known that his only purpose during this was to turn Zero back into a maverick, even at the cost of his own life. And what better way to do that than infecting the red hunter himself?

            "That is what I must do." Sigma's mind was set. He cared not for the losses his forces would attain; even if they were all destroyed, that was of no concern to him. They had been infected to serve the Maverick Virus's bidding, just like Sigma.

            The Maverick Virus could be said to be the most unfeeling thing in the world. When it infected, it made you forget your past, made you lose hope for the future. It took away your empathy, your understanding. You turned into a hollow shell of yourself, with your powers fully operational, but lacking the understanding mind that let you consider your options. When a threat arose, there were two ways of dealing with it; destroy or infect. When one came near death, like Airborne Albatross, or realized they had to fight it, like Wycost, the virus lessened off, but then returned, stronger than ever. Even Wycost had not fully overcome the virus, for it was the deadliest ever created. The Maverick Virus can only be gotten rid of in two ways; a total disintegration of the host, or the transfer of all virus particles to another being, like Zero to Sigma. But Zero's transfer was not totally complete, for a few remained, and grew. Zero controlled them, but they grew stronger, until he finally exploded and destroyed Vile.

            Sigma stood up from his chair and walked over to the console.

            "Who's still fighting?" a maverick troop pointed to a screen, which showed the faces of the 8 maverick generals. Six were blackened; one was flashing and one was perfect.

            "Only Strobe Stallion remains. Fluid Ferret was captured and taken to Maverick HHQ." Sigma rubbed his chin.

            "That's the losses of war. Keep watching, soldier."

            Wycost accompanied by Bastion warped into the area of which they were called to. The distress site was the Mount Fuji Tower, a crucial part of the islands of Japan. If the Tower was to be destroyed, mankind's control over the powerful and dangerous mount would vanish. Its purpose was to provide a moderately effective safeguard over seismic activity. With earthquakes long ago unheeded thanks to the advent of liqui-gel stabilizers and their other technological brothers, only volcanoes presented danger. And if this thing was to go off, there would be trouble.

            "The Mount Fuji Tower naturally opens the top every few months or so to release gases harmlessly into the air. But right now there is a great flow that the tower is controlling. If the mavericks destroy it, then all of Tokyo and Japan…AND BEYOND…will be affected seriously." Cain had said during the briefing. With X out, and Zero untrustworthy, Bastion had been assigned the mission. He had chosen Wycost as an assistant, for any more than two would have been crazy and inefficient with the cramped quarters.

            "Come on, Wycost. This tower needs to be climbed. At the top we will find the maverick general and the others. But I'll bet they have the place guarded." Bastion spoke confidently, holding an air of leadership in his voice. Wycost grunted and began to charge his X-Buster.

            "Just show me those mavericks. I'll handle the rest." Bastion pulled out his beam saber and turned on the Powerstorm thrusters, raising into the air.

            "One thing to remember, Wycost. Don't just blast away at anything that moves. If even one of your shots misses, it could severely damage the equipment the tower crews use to operate the volcano. Recklessness is one trait that will hinder us. Speed is good, but only when you use it rationally." Wycost stared up at the rising hunter.

            "You sure talk a lot, boss."

            "Only when there is something to be said. You get their attention, while I sneak into the tower's peak and destroy their leader." Wycost couldn't but help to realize how smart his commander was. Even if he hated taking orders, Wycost couldn't argue with common sense.

            "All right, Bastion. I'll do that. Are you sure you won't need help?" Bastion laughed and stuck his arms out.

            "Do I look like I need help? I'm unstoppable!" Wycost's face suddenly became an angry one as he raised his X-Buster and fired off his supershot. Bastion screamed and ducked the blast, but it would have missed him. Bastion suddenly heard a loud explosion behind him, and particles crashed against his back. Wycost lowered his cannon and smiled.

            "Watch your back, man. That was a flying bomb drone. Before you tell me what to do, follow your own directions. I'm outta here. Somebody has to play hero while you ramble on." Wycost turned around and blasted in the tower's entrance door, dashing inside.

            "That…that…that's…"

            "Mega Man." Cossack spoke softly, stopping X's consistent stammer. The lower basement of Cossack's Citadel was deep, and it hid a powerful secret. The crumpled form of Mega Man, battered and unchanged lay dormant. X couldn't help reaching out with his hand to touch his older brother.

            "Where's his helmet?" X asked. Mega Man's helmet, the famous blue dome was missing, revealing the tattered black mane beneath. Cossack pointed at X.

            "You're wearing it." X could barely believe his ears as he reached up. He took off his helmet and compared it. It looked very similar to Mega Man's, except for the fact it was white and had a weird chevron top.

            "How can this be Mega Man's helmet?" Cossack shook his head.

            "I just know it is. If you want all the answers, you'll have to ask Dr. Light. Shortly before his lab was buried in an unfortunate volcanic eruption, he sent out your capsules, and they dispersed throughout the world." Cossack rolled around and hit another button on the handle of his wheelchair. The wall to X's left rotated sideways, until X could see the familiar blue and red glow of a capsule. Cossack pointed.

            "This one was sent to me specially. Light wanted me to hold onto it until you found it. He thought it would take you a while to get to it, and I guess he was right. Maybe you're more ready for it now than you were before…" X ran into the tiny room, and the capsule sprung to life.

            When X approached one of his capsules, it sensed his energy signature and activated all of its systems. Often, it was nothing more than an upgrade and a brief message about it. But this one was different; for X could see no upgrade beneath, just the familiar ghostly frame of Light. The apparition looked out at X with cold eyes and began to speak.

            "X, if you are listening to this, then you are in Dr. Cossack's Citadel. This capsule is far different from any other you have encountered. As you can see, it contains no devices for giving you an upgrade of any sort. This one is not for your fight, but for your mind. I can barely imagine the torment you must have felt all these years, not knowing the truths of me and your past, of Mega Man or the rest of my family. I am sorry, but I did not have time to do that then. I could only give you what I thought you might need in the future. In a way, I am sort of trying to create a penance with these capsules; a penance for all the damage my original ideas created. With Duo's words, I was able to see from what he told me what the future looked like. It was a bleak one, and I saw you destroyed in trying to save the earth." X blinked away a tear and tried to focus in on what Light's ghost was saying to him.

            "Because of that, I began work on the capsules. My greatest fear is that you, like the others like you that I saw in that vision, will turn to evil. I can only hope that your dedication to the sanctity of life is far stronger than anything Dr. Wily has created." X's eyes widened. Did Light just say..Dr. Wily?

            "Yes, X. Dr. Wily. His curse and shadow still loom over everything. He was the creator of an entity we called "The Demon", and is to blame for the lack of your past. During the Seventh Robot Rebellion, one of Wily's robots known as Bass came into the lab and stole several papers, including the design notes for you, then trashed the place. Luckily, I had a copy of them stored away for safekeeping. When I realized that Wily had begun work on a next-generation robot of his own, I set to work on you. It wasn't easy, even with using Mega Man for a model. I gave you his helmet for a reason; to give you a link to the past." Light paused for a moment, and X could see him coughing out a wad of phlegm, the effect of pipe smoking.

            "Wily's robot…he looked like this." Light's hologram ghost vanished, only to be replaced with a hologram of…Zero. X gasped, realizing the horror.

            "Protoman, Mega Man and even Bass fought valiantly against this Demon, only to be destroyed with no hope of reactivation. But the robot took severe damage himself. I almost thought of activating you, but then I realized you would only become like him. It was Duo that survived this robot's rampage, but Duo could not bring himself to destroy the robot forever. He kept muttering about 'this one's future'. Personally, I could have destroyed him myself, after the loss of my family. But I took actions otherwise. Duo buried the robot back in Wily's lair and then left for a troubled area of space. Then it was just you and Auto, Eddie and Rush being destroyed as well. I reprogrammed Auto to defend one capsule, then sent the other capsules on their way, including this one." Light's figure came back into the capsule and continued.

            "Aside from this message, the capsule contains my databanks and entry logs from before the First Robot Rebellion. This is what you wanted to know, and now you do. It isn't a pleasant picture, but that is life for you. There is no upgrade to be found here…but there is the knowledge and wisdom from your family's age…the Twenty-First Century, and I can tell you all you want to know that I can. My time here has ended, and my work must continue. X, the future of the world is yours. I hope you give it back." Light's hologram blinked out, and X crumpled to the floor, the tears flowing freely from his eyes, his cry of anguish filling the room and echoing throughout the hollow, empty chambers of the Citadel.

            Another unit radio went dead, the silence preluded by screams.

            "Gah! That's the fourth patrol unit below!" cried out a moderator. A steady gallump came into his ears as a strange figure trotted over. He looked like a metallic horse, and his name was Strobe Stallion.

            "That must be one crazy Maverick Hunter," mused the giant horse. Just then, a crash to his right surprised him, as the giant plexiglass window shattered. He swiveled his upper torso to look at the intrusion, and there crouching amongst the tiny particles of window was a fearsome figure, his blazing purple beam saber lit up and sending off a constant glow. The orange and red hunter looked up, his brown hair covering the dazzling eyes beneath.

            "Target found. Who are you?" the hunter spoke, his wings folding back in. The horse maverick stood tall and totally turned around to face his foe.

            "I am Strobe Stallion. And you would be…" Bastion stood up to reveal his entire frame, tall and gaunt, and with the wings closing down, looking for all the world like a dark angel.

            "I am Commander Bastion of the 21st Maverick Hunter Unit. I have been assigned to end this maverick operation. It begins with your demise." Bastion activated his dash boots and skimmed across the ground, his beam saber upraised for the first strike. But Strobe Stallion let a small smile come across his lips as he raised up his left hand. The palm opened up to reveal a tiny lightbulb of some sorts, which then began to glow slightly. Bastion still kept coming, even though he prepared to guard himself from what he thought to be a plasma shot. But when the light flashed with the powerful energy of a strobe, it caught Bastion totally off guard, and he found that he had been blinded.

            "Ahh!" Bastion cried out as his eyes sent signals of pain back to his mind. Reploids, like robots before them were given neuro-sensors to help them realize when they are in danger. The original message was one of simple computer code, saying 'move away!' but due to the advent of more technologically advanced reploids, these neuro-sensors now had the ability to send more complex signals back, mimicking those of a human. At times they proved to be very useful, but there were other times some like X wished they could just feel a thump against them, like when Dr. Cain smacked them on the head with his stick.

            Strobe Stallion laughed as the now blinded Bastion kept charging, slashing blindly. The maverick stepped to the side and stuck out one of his four feet, sending Bastion flying into a wall. Bastion hit it soundly, his body stopping from full force to zero in an instant.

            "Think that was it, huh?" Strobe Stallion whinnied. He raised his right hand and it morphed into an X-Buster. He released a salvo of shots that all together overwhelmed the disabled hunter, being bounced around by the blows. And it was his Powerstorm jetpack that was suffering the most damage. Bastion could do nothing, for he was still recovering from the jarring blow he had received. And now the plasma onslaught was doing him far more damage than he had wanted. Strobe Stallion stopped his attack for a moment, letting Bastion drop to the floor. The maverick horse walked over and grasped the wounded Bastion with his free hand, raising him up to eye level. But Bastion's eyes were still shut, working on repair cycle to restore his vision.

            "Did you REALLY think you could stop us? Your insolence will bring nothing but disaster to all here! We will unleash the mighty flows of Mount Fuji upon the land!" Bastion grunted.

            "What about your base? You'll destroy yourselves as well." Strobe neighed in a humorless chortle.

            "If we die carrying out our mission, so be it. And now you will die, along with the volcano." Strobe Stallion opened a window and walked outside. Bastion could hear the wind whistling past them as his legs dangled freely in space.

            But a new noise interrupted Bastion's plunge, as a powerful X-Buster shot passed through the floor, and a figure could be heard leaping from the hole. Strobe Stallion turned around, but Bastion could only hear what was happening.

            "Wycost! So, you have finally fully betrayed us. I will relish your blood upon my hands!" Bastion smiled weakly. Even if he was too damaged to continue, Wycost would finish the job…but how did Wycost betray the mavericks…

            "Even if I was one of you, I am no longer. And there is only one thing I want; revenge." Wycost's voice was calm and collected, but Bastion heard it bristle with intense rage and anger.

            "Fine. We will fight, just as soon as I have finished discarding this trash…" Strobe Stallion said, pulling Bastion back towards the tower and raising him up into the air. Wycost gasped, then growled,

            "Put him down. Our fight does not concern him!" Strobe laughed.

            "Have you forgotten, Wycost? Mavericks will always use cheating and blackmail to gain the upper hand."

            "And that is why you are weak!" Wycost screamed, raising his cannon. Bastion heard him fire off a shot, then he felt a powerful blow against his chest as he was shoved back by the blast, loosing himself from Strobe Stallion's grip. Bastion's eyes slowly opened; his repair cycle was finishing up. Strobe trumpeted his anger as he raised his hand with the flashbulb.

            "Very well then! Taste my feet upon your skull!" Bastion almost became blinded again by the blast, but he covered his eyes. And when he opened them, Wycost was standing no worse for wear, for his eyes were protected by a pair of black sunglass lenses.

            "Did you think I'd fall for that trick, old FRIEND? You forget I know all your techniques. I even had these installed personally. They usually cover my control chip, but I just think about it, and they slide down through my helmet to protect my eyes." Wycost kept the shades on, just in case Strobe Stallion tried the same trick again.

            "Fine then. I see you are only going to fight me on equally. Let us begin." Bastion could make out their two forms, dashing and running in every direction, powering up shots and releasing them. The walls became scorched, but every console remained intact. They each made full use of their reflective armbands, deflecting shots. But more were hitting Strobe Stallion than Wycost, and finally Wycost squeezed off a final shot, fully powered beyond any other he had done. Strobe Stallion raised his flash arm to block it, but the force of the plasma was too great, and it cleanly blew his arm off. The blast continued and struck Strobe Stallion right in the chest, carrying him across the room until he hit the wall and fell to the ground, an empty shell of himself.

            Strobe Stallion had been shut down, and Wycost was the victor. Bastion groggily got up and walked over to the hunter.

            "You never told me…" Wycost looked at him and walked over to Strobe Stallion's shell. He gingerly picked up the bulb, scanning it for a moment before slipping it into his chest.

            "If you knew the truth, would you have enlisted me? Or destroyed me?" Bastion honestly could not tell the truth.

            "Is that why your X-Buster has that black scar down the middle? Are you a maverick?" Wycost shook his head.

            "No. I overcame the virus and destroyed it from every part of me. I am as clean as the day I was made…at least physically." Bastion sighed in relief.

            "You said something about revenge; what was that for?" Wycost shook his head.

            "I think that is what's causing my problems as yet. I was part of the Brooklyn Neighborhood Watch. When Nitro Narhwal and his goons came to town, we went in to stop them. All my friends were destroyed, humans and reploids. Only I survived…and that bastard had the nerve to infect me." Bastion thought for a moment.

            "It must not be too hard to overcome, if you did it." Wycost flared up in anger, and he grabbed Bastion by the jetpack behind him.

            "LISTEN TO ME! When I was infected, NOTHING was great. There was no hope, and our only purpose of existence was to carry out that damned computer code's will. IT IS EXTREMELY HARD to overcome." Wycost dropped Bastion back down. He shifted his goggles back up to cover his control chip, then shook his head.

            "I'll never fully get over that. If you went through what I did, you'd feel the same way. I think only that Zero guy could understand what I truly went through." Wycost sat down, but then felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Bastion smiled, and spoke up.

            "Wycost, you have proven to me without a doubt that you are a true maverick hunter. The scars are in your mind, and I will help you to heal them. But right now, we need to head back to base." Wycost looked up.

            "Why?" Bastion checked his escape unit.

            "To plan our attack on the maverick base."

            When Bastion and Wycost warped in, Cain and several others were running around, klaxons wailing and nobody making any sense. Bastion finally grabbed Cain by the shoulders.

            "Doc! What the hell is going on here?" Cain looked at Bastion with a mask of fear and disbelief.

            "You remember how we detected some maverick particles in Zero? I sent him to his quarters, pending his excusal. But it seems he has escaped. Not only that, but he went to the armory and stole several weapons, including three Sub-Tanks. After he did that, he released Fluid Ferret. Now that crazy maverick is running the streets, free as a bird. And Zero…" Cain put his hand against his head.

            "I don't know what to think of him anymore. His actions imply that he truly is a maverick. I wish I didn't have to, but I must for total safety." Cain ran over to a console and typed in his access code.

            The screen above him flashed with a picture of Zero, and the words, "Irregular maverick hunter. High risk. Shoot on sight."


	15. Return to Despair

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: RETURN TO DESPAIR**

            X had been resting and talking with Cossack for some time. The startling revelations revealed in Light's last capsule were mind-numbing, leaving X with a hollow sensation. Everything he had thought to believe in was false, and now when he had asked for the truth, he had not fully understood the depths of the pain it would bring him.

            If Zero was created by Wily, then that explained the horrifying images that had driven him into a frenzy, the images of his dark master telling Zero to destroy the only true friend he had…Mega Man X.

            And from what X had picked up here and there when the maverick generals were close to death, Zero was being forced back into the shadowy depths he was born into, the dark past that Wily had forced him to be born into. X could only wonder how Bastion was doing. Even if the young lad had promise, the challenges X had left behind for him were many and daunting.

            "X…X!!! Do you hear me?" X's head bounced back up from its hanging position and focused on Cossack, a look of concern on his face. "What were you doing, X? You lost all connection with us for a second there." X smiled.

            "It's nothing. When I think or contemplate deeply, that is what happens." Cossack couldn't help but grin.

            "That's just what Light was like. Mega just kinda blinked a lot. But you…you just go out on a blink! So, what are you going to do now?" X shrugged his shoulders and his smile faded.

            "The same thing I've always done, Pinky. Try to save the world." Cossack looked at X with a confused stare, and X shrugged.

            "It's from an old TV show." Cossack blinked, then smiled.

            "Ah, I see. Ha! That's funny!" Just then, X's comm went haywire. X clicked the push-button on his X-Buster bracelet, and the audio transmission came on.

            "ZKZ….der X, do you readZKZ…erick Hunter HeadquartersZKZ…eed assistance immediately." X sighed.

            "That would by my posse. Dr. Cossack, I loved talking to you. Could I return later?" Cossack smiled.

            "Any creation of Light's is always welcome. I'm always here if you want to know more. You just come back alive." X smiled, then shut his eyes as his warp signal faded him into the bright beams of blue and white light.

            X warped into Maverick HHQ, and he was surrounded by the usual hustle and bustle. It was to be expected, otherwise they wouldn't have called him. He walked into Cain's office, where an assembly had taken form. Bastion, Hazil, some crazy looking green reploid, and the good doctor himself. Cain looked up.

            "Well, I'm glad to see that you didn't die on your quest. Did you find your answers?" X nodded.

            "Not all of them were happy ones. I found out some new info on Zero…"

            "Such as he's a Maverick?" Cain's reply was succint and unfeeling, like a sledgehammer blow without warning or without reason. X's face dropped.

            "How much have I missed here?" the green reploid coughed and pumped his X-Buster.

            "Plenty, pal. So sit down and listen up." X frowned at the disrespective hunter, but Bastion waved his hand.

            "You'll have to forgive him. He may be rude, but he's a hell of a fighter. Goes by Wycost. Wycost, you had better watch your mouth. This is Mega Man X, the greatest hunter." Wycost blinked, then sat down and didn't look up. X smirked. Newbies always were kind of cocky until they saw who was better than them.

            "Now that we are all introduced, let's begin." Cain spoke sharply and fiercely. Something had set him off. And X wagered it probably had something do with Zero, from his mind-blowing announcement. Cain grumbled and picked up his stick.

            "Two days ago, late that night, Zero warped back to us in the presence of Wycost here. Apparently, Wycost helped Zero escape his imprisonment. As was natural protocol, both Zero and Wycost received full medical checkups. Wycost seemed normal, just a bit aggravated. He is now a part of the 21st Maverick Hunter Unit, commanded by Bastion. But our scans showed a residual amount of maverick virogens in Zero's systems. We therefore assumed him to be a danger. He was confined to quarters until a decision could be made, but he broke out. And when he left, he took weapons, Sub-Tanks, an energy shield….and the maverick prisoner, Fluid Ferret." X's blood chilled. Not only had his close friend and partner betrayed the cause, but now he was returning to his ways, apparently brought on by his re-infection.

            "Wait a minute! If Zero was infected with the virus…why should we blame him for that? That's like getting a kid addicted to stims, and then punishing him for it. Cain, what you did was WRONG." X spoke forcefully, and his voice was choked up with emotions. His trusted mentor had done something that upset him. "Zero's been with us since the beginning!" Cain stood up, his face calm.

            "X, protocols are protocols. Even you are subject to them. And Zero was no different." X wouldn't let up, for something inside of him was breaking apart.

            "Zero is not a threat! And for you to think he is is ludicrous!" Cain sighed.

            "X, sit down. I can confine you to quarters, too." X could not believe his ears, for now even Doctor Cain was turning against him. But X needed to go save Zero before anyone else destroyed him. To any other person, he was a threat. But to X…Zero was a friend who needed to be protected. He sat down. He would let Cain win this fight, for he carried Dr. Light's anti-virus in his chest compartment.

            And that was what stood between Zero and death. One friend in a sea of enemies.

            Zero stomped down the dingy tunnel, drips of water and squeaking rats providing him with the perfect atmosphere.

            "Hey, stop pushing so hard!" Fluid Ferret complained. His hands were bound, and he had limited use of his legs. Zero had taken him from the prison cell for one reason; to lead him back to the Maverick Base. Zero had thought it over long and hard. X was his only friend at Maverick HHQ, and he was a threat to X. He would claim revenge for what Sigma and the others had done to him, and he would do it the only way he knew how.

            He would annihilate them.

            "I don't give a damn about you, maverick. Just keep walking and you live. Now which way do we turn?" Fluid Ferret chattered his teeth. He would kill this hunter if he got his hands free. But he couldn't. Still…he could set a trap. There was a few coming up. Sigma had taken special care to set them in case of a surprise attack.

            But Zero wasn't thinking about what Fluid Ferret might do. He was wondering what the Maverick Hunters would do to him, now that he was a threat. Would they shut him down, turn him into a statue to sit in a museum? Would they dismantle him, destroy him forever? The latter option was more likely. Now that everyone knew his secret, Zero was on the hit list. Zero smiled. Even if he was going to die…he would go down fighting. Just like he had always done, Zero would now fight. Fight as much as he could.

            Fluid Ferret saw his chance as Zero's eyes glazed over. Ferret smirked. Even the greatest of the Hunters could not maintain the sharpness that the maverick forces held. He turned his head around, until he saw a brick that lay just out of alignment with the wall. Surreptitiously, he walked by it, pushing it in as if he was walking against the wall from fatigue. When that happened…

            All hell broke loose.

            The klaxons wailed, and suddenly every trap and defensive measure installed in the mazelike complex turned on. Zero dropped to reality, to face disaster. Turn Cannons, enshrouded by cloaking devices came online and morphed into view, firing their plasma rounds rapidly. Then a salvo of Spikys emerged from another subterranean tunnel and rolled towards Zero. Fluid Ferret jumped to the wall, dodging the onslaught. But Zero was not so lucky. He turned his beam saber on, its red glow illuminating the passageway. Zero would have preferred his Z-Saber, but that was now back in Sigma's clutches. Even with everything that was being thrown at him, Zero laughed loudly and uncontrollably.

            Satan would have to wait a little longer for his next club member.

            "Yeech!" X muttered as a grimy drop of polluted water dropped from the tunnel roof. Wycost and Bastion were leading the three of them into the heart of the maverick base for the one objective Cain had given them; crush all resistance. Wycost suddenly stopped and sniffed the air, and his face turned dark.

            "We're not far. And worse, someone's activated the security defenses. Probably that fool Zero." X couldn't stop but wonder something sinister about Wycost. Even with his intense hatred for mavericks, why would he know so much?

            "Wycost, forgive me for asking, but why is this place so familiar to you?" X queried. Wycost turned around, then shifted his gaze.

            "It's best if we wait a while. The defense system needs to calm down a bit. And why do you think this is familiar, X? You escape from some place, you don't forget the route." X thought it over. The answer made sense, and so did Wycost's reccomendation. X had always said avoid injury and damage if possible. Recklessness got people…and reploids…killed off. And unnecessary risks were something X avoided.

            X tried to sit down, but he slipped in the water, crashing to his knees with a very disgruntled look on his face.

            "Why is it so frickin dark in here?" X whined. Wycost grunted.

            "It's not something that's needed. Mavericks tend to hide themselves away anymore. I mean, you and Zero and the other hunters have dealt them blow after blow. That's why they are in hiding. And you want to know why they were torturing Zero, hoping to turn him into a maverick?" X blinked his eyes, wiping away the tears. He hated to hear the words Zero and maverick in the same sentence. It was like condemning him, and that was something X could never do. Even if Zero had destroyed his entire family in the past, it was the Maverick Virus that made him do it, and it was not the true Zero, the lovable if somewhat aggressive red hunter that put melted marshmallows in his helmet every so often.

            "Why?"

Wycost lowered his voice and looked at X, dead serious. "Because Zero is the strongest ever built. With the Maverick Virus and him put together, he could be unstoppable, far better than any maverick Sigma's forces could produce." X could only reach one conclusion for why Wycost knew so much about everything.

            "Were you a prisoner of the mavericks, like Zero?" Wycost coughed for a moment, then let a small sad smile cross his lips. It was ironic how X had phrased the question, for Wycost had been a prisoner…a prisoner of the Virus's hollow and inhuman actions.

            "Yes, you could say that." X noted that Bastion shifted his eyes nervously, as if looking for an escape from the conversation. X frowned, and all his suspicions finally came to light in the dark tunnel.

            "All right. The both of you are hiding something from me. And right now, this mission is too important to mess up. That relies on trust. And trust relies on truth. SO TELL ME THE TRUTH. What are you two hiding from me?" Bastion grunted and looked at Wycost, who lifted his hands in a sign of defeat. Bastion jerked his thumb at Wycost.

            "Our buddy Buster boy here used to BE a maverick. That's why he knows so much." X was once again hit by a monster of a psycho blow. He picked himself up and shook his head.

            "Excuse my reaction. I've had a LOT of these moments in a very short time. So if Wycost was a maverick, how come it didn't show up in the medical scans?" Wycost checked his X-Buster for any scouring, then grumbled a response.

            "I destroyed it." X blinked.

            "May I ask how?"

            "Internal deletion. Not easy to do. Fought the bugger for some time."

            "Scientists have said the maverick virus was too strong too overcome!"

            "Well, then they were weak. And I had a job to do…to get revenge." Bastion nodded.

            "The boy's got dedication and skills to boot. What he doesn't have is a check for that ego." Wycost looked at him in a half embarassed grin.

            "You only THINK that. Personally, I know X here is stronger than me. Any reploid can resist the virus…they just need something to have hope for. The maverick virus exists because of one's will becoming weak. Hope gives a reploid something to go on for. I had hope…hope that I could take revenge for what the mavericks did to me and my pals. While you were off popping shots with that maverick general Narhwal, I was being turned into a maverick drone soldier. Trust me, it's not a pleasant experience." X smiled and gave Wycost a humongous bearhug.

            "Err…X. Listen up pal. I respect you and all, but I'm not exactly a touchy-feely person. Let go of me." X released Wycost instantly, but his smile didn't fade.

            "Wycost, you have just opened a doorway of opportunity for me. Now, Zero can stop himself from falling into oblivion. With your experience on internal virus deletion, Zero will come out of this maverick free for life. And Cain can go off and get rid of that turd riding up his pants." Bastion laughed.

            "Sometimes, X. Sometimes even you can be a good reploid." Wycost looked up.

            "The defenses have slowed. Let's get going. Most likely, your pal Zero has run into trouble with a capital SIGMA."

            The defense had not been turned off; they had been obliterated. Zero's incredible anger had destroyed the threat, but in the heat of battle Fluid Ferret had escaped from him. Zero could only brush out the smoldering pieces of maverick robots from his synthhair, and turn off his saber.

            "Now they know I'm coming." Zero looked down at his hands for a moment. Covered in grease and robotic fluids, in the dark light they looked ever so much as they were covered in blood.

            Perhaps they were. If so, then Zero smiled at himself. Wily's mission for him was coming ever more and more clearer to him; his dreams and thoughts turning from fantasy to reality. Zero would destroy everything that stood against him.

            Of course, if he was not following Wily's will then he was doing suicide.

            "But how can that be, my friend?" Zero chuckled to himself. "You would have been shut down anyways." If Zero could have, he would have turned his saber on and jammed it through his body, letting the reploid blood spill from his wounds as he faded from the mortal plain. But suicide was not an option for him yet. Zero would have his revenge on Sigma and the mavericks this day.

And if he didn't, he would die trying.

"So what are you Zero…maverick…or Maverick Hunter?" Zero's muddled mind could not distinguish between the two anymore. If he had been in his right mind, he would have felt the maverick infection creeping from dormancy, trying to place itself. And it was doing its job quite well, as a virus does. Zero had lost all touch with himself. Now he was not a person, a figure in life. He was a weapon, a weapon that did not care if it died…a weapon that would fight to the last breath.

Even if Zero hadn't realized it, what his suicide run was doing was completing both tasks given to him. As a Hunter he would eliminate the maverick threat.

And as Wily's destructor, he would obliterate everything in his path.

            "X, what were you doing all the time you were gone?" Bastion asked as they proceeded down the hall. It was barely a whisper in which he spoke, for they didn't want to trip off any alarms. But it was loud enough for X's delicate hearing to pick up.

            "Looking for answers. I had to travel to Russia to do it, but I made it there and back." X smiled. Now he had a link to his past…a true home. X wasn't wearing one of his armor sets, because they were all recharging. But he had two Sub-Tanks and eight Heart Tanks, so he was set pretty well anyway. And even Bastion had left his Powerstorm Pack behind at HQ, for the cramped tunnels would only hinder him if he was wearing the suit.

            "Russia? Who lives there?" X turned to face Bastion, a true hunter with an attitude that made it easy for him to make friends.

            "Dr. Cossack, an old friend and compatriot of Dr. Light. You might call him my uncle." Bastion smiled. Now even X, the loneliest Hunter had a family at last.

            "I'm glad to hear that, X. I myself am from the Arabian Collective." Bastion boasted, pounding his chest. "The coloring gives it away, right?" X laughed at Bastion, the incredible humorist with a Hunter's calling.

            "You two speak too much." Wycost grumbled as he rounded the corner and squeezed off a shot at a remaining Spiky. Bastion coughed and turned to Wycost.

            "And where would you originate from, my Buster subordinate?" Wycost turned around and activated one of his side weapons, a soft glow that emerged from his cannon, illuminating the ever darkening interior.

            "This is my newest addition. Thank Strobe Stallion for this oddity. I named it the Strobe Flash." X scoffed.

            "Not very poetic." Bastion flicked his saber on, and the purple blade even further lit the dank sewers.

            "X, that's his choice. And Wycost, you never told us where your home is." Wycost shook his head and began to walk down the hall, taking the tiny beacon of light with him. And as he walked, X and Bastion could barely make out what he said.

            "I have no home."

            Sigma plodded across the floor nervously. Even if he held the strongest version of the Maverick Virus, he had long ago found a way to control it so he could think like a normal reploid. But still, its goals remained his. Nobody had reported in, and the alarms had gone off just mere minutes ago, only to be silenced not by the cease fire command, but instead a more chilling destruction of the system itself. Someone was coming….but who? Sigma could only find out one way…

            "Zero…Zero, where are you?" Sigma whispered inside his head, speaking telepathically with his Hunter quarry. But the answer he received only further surprised him.

            "Right here, you low-down oil suckin pompous excuse for an Irregular Hunter!" Sigma's head swung in a wild arc until it faced the uppermost point of the main chamber. There, standing in a pipe was Zero, a glowing red beam saber in his hand, and a look of cold ruthlessness in his eye. Sigma knew he was not under the Virus's influence…yet. But he was close…very close.

            Everyone else in the chamber sprung to life, snarling and jumping up and down. Those who carried Busters started to fire them off in quick order, their maverick protocols taking control. But Zero swung his saber with years of experience and blocked every single one, the small bursts of superheated gas bouncing around the room, striking mavericks, consoles, viewscreens and processors. Very soon, small explosions accompanied by showers of sparks filled the room. The technological portion of the maverick threat had been eliminated. But Zero screamed with rage and jumped down from his high perch, activating his Hyouretsuzan. One unlucky maverick found himself dead within an instant as the ice crept through his systems and severed his major blood vessels. But Zero leapt off the corpse and sped towards another cluster, who kept charging him even with death's hand on their shoulder. With a mighty swipe of his Shippuga, Zero destroyed all of them without even pausing to blink. It went on this way for a very brief twenty seconds, until at last every maverick drone had been destoryed. Reploid blood, limbs and body parts filled the massive room, enshrouding it in a powerful stench of overheated Fusion Generators and malfunctioning servos. Then Zero paused and looked at his hands; just like in his dream, his visitation from Wily, their white beauty had been strewn astray by tiny rivulets of life fluid.

            But Zero had one last challenge in front of him; the powerful Sigma, whose green beam saber now safely returned blistered into view. Zero lifted his red helmeted head and faced Sigma, his own saber still smoking from the burning vital fluids it had brought to the surface.

            "So…you truly are a crazed one at last." Sigma mumbled, a sick grin of pleasure covering his mouth. But Zero did not even bother to respond. He couldn't. His mind was now so fuddled, speech had been overridden to maintain his sanity circuits. But Zero could speak telepathically with Sigma, and he did.

            "I don't care. I've come to destroy you." Sigma laughed, for now Zero was the one who used their link.

            "I see, Zero. I'm afraid you'll have a tough go of it. For you see…the only way to defeat me is to become maverick." Sigma waved his saber in a lazy arc, then flipped it in the air and caught it with the dexterity of a juggler. Zero raised his own saber and his eyes went out of focus. And Sigma knew it had begun. Slowly…piece by piece, Zero was losing himself. And the only thing he had left was his thirst for blood.

That was what drove him now. It wasn't honor or glory, or tickertape parades. It wasn't even for trying to defend his friends against a menacing threat. It wasn't even to save himself. Zero had now become one step closer to Wily's ultimate goal, for now the only reason he fought and killed was just for that. The sick pleasure and idealism of violence, uncaring uncompassionate war and hatred.

            And if Sigma could push him the last step of the way…Wily could finally live his days in Purgatory with the knowledge that after everything Light and peacekeeping pacifists everywhere had fought for…everything they had designed, created and strived for in their waning years had failed. It is said that you can never totally destroy evil…you can only change its form.

            And Sigma knew his form…the form of the Maverick Virus…would never stop changing.

            X, Wycost and Bastion kept running down the halls…the multiple passageways continued on for what seemed like an eternity to them, but Wycost kept on giving them distance figures.

            "Not far now…just one more left and we'll be in the main chamber. You'd better get your Buster charging, X." X grunted in response and let his left hand vanish, replaced by his basic blue X-Buster that he had carried with him since the day of his discovery. Although it could only reach 3 levels of power, X usually found it more than enough if he was with others. If he went alone…he brought enough weapons to decimate a country. And all Bastion had to bring was his saber. But all this thinking wore down the time, and then X and his troupe found themselves trying to focus in on the blaring lights. And Wycost could only raise his synth-eyebrows in surprise, for what he saw was a sight few people are witness to. But to X, who had seen it countless times before, his reactions was much different.

            "Zero…" X mumbled. Below them stood Zero, his beam saber slammed up Sigma, the blade cutting the maverick leader's life short every moment. Sigma's mouth was open, and his eyes were out of focus.

            "Congratulations, Zero…you finally have achieved your maverick self again…" Sigma slumped to his knees, and Zero retracted his saber from the powerful green monster. Sigma had been defeated, and soon he would perish, his vital fluids leaving his body and refusing his circuitry the inladen energy.

            "Zero!!! You did it!!!" X laughed. Sigma had not even tried to cover any sign of control chip transfer. That meant that at long last, Sigma would die…and with his death would come the death of the Maverick Virus. But Zero did not turn and give a flashy thumbs up. He didn't even harrumph and turn his back on X.

            He turned to face the Blue Bomber, and by doing so revealed himself. Zero's eyes were glazed over, and there was no flash of recognition. Zero just stared at X for a very long period of time, his twin optics whirring into focus.

            "Oh my God…" X whispered as he recognized what had happened, and what Zero had become. It was obvious his systems had been declining to this point for some time, with all the torture that he had been put through. And Cain's utter condemnation of the crimson hunter had probably not helped either.

            "X…whazzup? Why are you looking so scared?" Bastion asked, his face squinting in concern. X did not turn to face Bastion, he did not let his eyes wander for even a moment. Then, like a whisper in the wind Bastion and Wycost could barely make out X uttering something…his voice was soft and shaky, like a part of his nightmares had come to life and was staring at him.

            "Zero…he's finally…gone maverick."

            When a reploid goes maverick, there is a very simple response. It doesn't matter if it's attacked anyone. The simple fact is it poses a danger, and to prevent that danger the maverick must be destroyed. In Zero's case, Cain had opted for a vote. The vote had come through, and nobody wanted to fry him. However, Zero's actions indicated that the vote was unnecessary. The alarm had been sounded, and the best Hunters had been chosen to go after him and terminate his life. But even though it was procedure, Cain was worried.

            Hazil rolled into the cooled office of Cain and waved one of his hands.

            "Hey Doc, you all right?" Cain looked up from his indesk viewscreen and faced Hazil. His face was unkempt, even though it had only been a day since Zero had left. Cain's eyes were also bloodshot, and several empty containers of mocha caff were strewn about. Cain's office was a mess, and that meant only one thing; he was worried.

            "Hazil, what time is it?" Hazil activated his clock and checked.

            "It's 9 P.M., doc. Looks like you should be getting some rest." Cain scratched his head and nodded.

            "I should, but I can't. I'm too worried. Worried about what I've sent Bastion, Wycost and X into. Worried that they…might not come back." Hazil nodded his head and then spoke again.

            "It seems to me you're also worried about Zero." Cain swiveled his head at Hazil, his eyes glaring furiously as if he wanted to strike the medical reploid for even mentioning that name. But then his anger flooded away and his weary look returned.

            "Perhaps. Perhaps I am. I know I did what I was supposed to…follow procedure." Hazil's arm servo whirred, keeping it limber and oiled. Cain rubbed his eyes and reached for a glass of water. "Even though…even though I knew it wasn't right. Zero spoke the truth. Time and time again he's put his life on the line to serve our cause…and thanks to me, he's gone straight back into Sigma's caves. That's why he ran away. Maybe if he thought he had friends…if he still had a home he could have resisted it." Cain sobbed quietly, and Hazil rolled over beside him.

            "Take it easy, doc. You can deal with that tomorrow. Right now, you need sleep. I'm going to give you an anesthetic, all right? It'll help you calm down." Hazil reached into his lower chest compartment and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear liquid. Testing it, he supported Cain's arm, trying to stop it from shaking like the rest of his body. Gingerly, Hazil put the head of the needle on Cain's skin and pierced it. There was only a slight shudder of shock from Cain, and then the whimpering administrator of Maverick HHQ dozed off to sleep, be it fitfully. Hazil picked up Cain and activated the roll-up bed in Cain's wall. With the tender care of a parent, Hazil placed Cain on the bed and set to work cleaning up the mess in his office. When it was all clean, Hazil turned off the lights and rolled out the door, very quietly. His face showed sadness, remorse…pity. Hazil had never had to fight, but he had seen its consequences time and time again. The guilt, the anger, the hatred…Hazil shuddered. One rarely came out of a conflict like the Maverick Uprisings without suffering trauma.

            "Good night, doc." Hazil whispered. "I hope you have a good night's sleep. God knows you deserve one." Hazil could almost see what Cain was going through, and it scared him. Then he lifted his head, trying to peer through the ceiling to the skies above. If he had been able to see the stars, he would have seen a brilliant falling object burn brightly with a crimson trail. But Hazil could only do one thing in his position.

            "X, come back home safely. And bring Zero with you."

            But X was currently having other thoughts as a raving Zero screamed at him and climbed the wall to his position. X turned his head to Bastion and Wycost.

            "You two get to safety! It's me he's after!" Bastion shook his head.

            "No. We fight together, X!" X gritted his teeth and swore.

            "You're a pair of damned fools, you know that?"

            "Do you want us to do anything else?" Wycost yelled. X shook his head again.

            "Negative! If you start shooting, you'll put all of us in danger of being attacked by him! He has the abilities here. I can only distract him." X's speech was cut short by Zero's swinging saber blade as it hacked away a chunk of metal from their tunnel entrance. X punched Zero in the face and dashed out of the tunnel, falling to the floor and charging his Buster. Zero tracked his target and did the same, using the Hyouretsuzan to try and immobilize X. Wycost and Bastion saw their chance and climbed out of the pipe and onto the walls.

            "Why doesn't X shift into one of his armor sets?" Wycost asked. Bastion shook his head.

            "I wish he could, but there's too much interference. The warped suit would never make it this far down. Not to mention, he needs to stand still for a moment to make it work. With Zero chasing after him, he can't!" X looked up and frowned as he saw the powerful ice spear plummeting down towards him, with the Maverick Zero holding the hilt of the blade steady. When X hit the ground, he quickly crouched down and punched his dash thrusters as fast as he could. The powerful boosters threw him out of harm's way, and using their power he turned around and fired off his shot. But when Zero's blade hit the ground, the ice particles crumpled into dust on the floor and Zero turned, swinging his saber in a wide arc. The blade turned purple and the power of the Tenkuuha deflected X's shot with ease. X cursed and dashed away from Zero as the maverick gave chase. With a mighty leap, X attached himself to the wall and began to slide down it, firing off a devastating barrage of plasma shots that he hoped would slow down Zero. But the Tenkuuha blocked them all with ease as Zero continued to charge at X.

            "Man, this is not working!" X muttered. He was sorely outgunned with his plasma weapon.

            "X, try a Master Weapon!" Wycost bellowed, turning his own Strobe Flash on. With a powerful blast, he focused the light until he released it in a mighty sunburst. X and Bastion covered their eyes while Wycost had his shades, but the unknowing Zero got hit with the overloading photons. The maverick screamed in pain as his photon receptors tried to compensate and rebuild themselves. X flashed a thumbs up at the two high above and then selected his weapons array.

            "Plasma's no good, the Tenkuuha will block it. But perhaps…I got the Narhwal Cannon, Koala Slash, and Dante's Inferno." With a quick decision, X chose the Narwhal Cannon. Instantly, he shifted into his green coloring and a spike emerged from his cannon, prepared to fire. But X took the continued opportunity of Zero's blindness to try and supercharge the weapon.

            "I don't know how long this'll hold up. My Force Helmet could have helped me here!" X muttered, sighing in relief when he was informed the Narwhal Cannon had reached maximum capability, which was further indicated when his spiny quilt covered him.

            But just then Zero's optic sensors came back online and he sighted X. X grinned with a superior look as he yelled out,

            "Surprise, Zero! I thought we'd start this thing with a BANG!!!" X knew Zero could not understand him, but the comment helped to reassure him. Bracing himself, he activated the weapon. His spiky shield fired off in all directions, each one carrying a powerful explosive charge. The swirling sparklers spiraled around the room until they hit something, and Bastion and Wycost often had to jump or drop to avoid a few. But much of the swarm went off in the direction of Zero.

            Zero tried to dodge a few, but then one hit him. Then another...and another…and another. For every hit that Zero took, that stalled him long enough for two more to attack. Zero roared in anger, and when the attack had completed, Zero was severely damaged. But with a simple command of the virus…SURVIVE…one of Zero's Sub-Tanks was drained, and Zero was back in fighting shape. But still, a part of his armor had been blasted off and it gave X an idea.

            "Bastion, you see that chink in his armor?" X yelled up. Bastion yelped in response.

            "What do you want us to do?"

            "Try and get a clear shot! I'll keep him busy, and when he stops for a moment to recharge, you hit him with a stunning blast!" Bastion's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he flashed a grin. But then he reached behind him and pulled out a cylinder. With a light toss he let it fall down to X. X caught it, and realized it was Bastion's saber.

            "X, use it! It may help you. And not like it does me any good up here!" X hit the button on the side of the hilt, and the blade spurted to life, like a snake awoken from hibernation. The coarsing purple blade strobed off a beat every moment, like it had a heartbeat…a life of its own. X could not have armed it any sooner, for Zero came charging at him in full fury. X raised the saber and braced it, just as Zero brought his own saber crashing down upon it. Had X not prepared himself, the blade would have been knocked out of his hand.

            "Whew! Close call!" X muttered, but Zero did not wait for a response. With a vicious kick to X's ribs, he continued the fight. X coughed up some reploid blood and ducked, narrowly avoiding a decapitation.

            "This guy wants to fight dirty, huh?" X grumbled. He brought up his weapons array again and selected a different attack…the Koala Slash. The green coloring faded away as it was replaced by a drab gray. The X-Buster on his left hand came to life, as it sprouted a pair of sharp claws. Now X had a saber and his Slash claws at his disposal.

            And he would make Zero pay for that kick.

            Zero gave a quick swipe, which X blocked with his own saber. The mighty blades of energy sizzled and crackled at each other, trying unsuccessfully to eat through their opponent. X gave a sneaky slash of his Koala Slash, but Zero backflipped out of the attack and responded with his Rakuhouha. Zero threw the energy pellet to the ground, and a blob of coarsing energy skimmed across the ground towards X. X jumped to avoid it, but Zero had dashed back underneath him and was leaping up in the air to attack him with the Ryuenjin, a blazing attack that was similar to X's Retribution Dragon Punch.

            "Oh, CRAP!!!" X shouted as he felt the blistering heat began to rise up. The blade of Zero's saber turned from red to a mix of fiery colors, until flames spurted out and surrounded the blade in an inferno. "Well, may as well fight FIRE WITH FIRE!!!" X's coloring shifted again, and his claw faded back into the cannon. When X blinked, he had activated the Dante's Inferno, and he was a blistering maroon. He beaded his cannon at Zero and popped off a shot. A blast of oil spurted out, followed closely by a spark which ignited the stream. Instantly, X was firing off a continual flamethrower stream and counteracting Zero's attack. In fact, it did more than simply match furies…it overcame it.

            The Dante's Inferno blast pushed past the flaming spire of Zero's saber and went down, licking at the metallic hilt of the blade. Zero drew his hand back in pain and screamed. With a blast from his boots, Zero air-dashed his way out of the Inferno's path. But his beam saber continued to be revaged, until it blew up, the power pack exploded and the plasma in the blade itself only furthering the reaction. X cut the stream from his Buster and curled up to avoid the blast. When he landed, Zero was charging at him again. X growled back and swung his fist in a vicious uppercut. It hit Zero squarely in the jaw and set him back a few paces…which gave X enough time to run around behind the maverick and lock his limbs from action. X had Zero pinned where he stood, and all Zero could do was struggle and scream.

            "Bastion!" X screamed. "Fire!!!" Far above, illuminated by Wycost's Strobe Flash, Bastion leveled his aim.

            "It's on its way, X!" Bastion exclaimed. "But you gotta hold him steady!" X grunted, for Zero was scrabbling about wildly and preventing an easy trip in that category.

            "Just…make it quick!" Bastion squinted his eye, then with a precision hit pulled the trigger. The low powered, but scrambling plasmaburst hit Zero in his weak spot. The effect was instant, as Zero broke free of X and screamed. The two forces in his body were fighting viciously, and there was no controlling the ravaging effects on the battleground. X tried to hold Zero again, but Zero's head jerked and smashed into X's. With a crinkle and a crackle, Zero's and X's crystal coverings shattered, leaving their control chips open to the air. Instantly, like drowning rats trying to escape a ship, tiny black particles jumped out of Zero's broken helmet and into X's. Suddenly, X had a pounding headache, and everything went black….

            His vision restored itself moments later, but instead of seeing the dark room he was accustomed to, X saw a more chilling vision; he was surrounded by a blood red color, and ahead of him was a floating mass of wires, coils, and switches, bristling with power and bristling with an intelligence of its own. It spoke to him…and what it said scared him.

            "X…at last, we are with you." The clump of mechanicals had a dark voice…a mind that portrayed terrible images. X's mouth went dry, and he felt oppressed by its presence.

            "Who…what are you?" his voice seemed so tiny compared to the voice that spoke to him, and X's meekness made him even more frightened.

            "We are the Maverick Virus, created by Doctor Wily. We fulfill his vision of a world without hope, without love and without peace. You have been infected, and you too will join our cause X." X could scarcely believe his ears, for what he had fought against…what he now realized Zero had always fought against…was now fighting him.

            "No…I am a Hunter…I fight you!" The Virus shuddered, and X could imagine it laughing cruelly.

            "Your pitiful attempts are no match. You are now a maverick, and must follow the maverick's three rules…DESTROY…INFECT…SURVIVE…"

            "No!" X cried, covering his ears. Those three words they spoke drove down deeper into him than anything else the virus had said. It was trying to infect him…and it was winning.

            "DESTROY…INFECT…SURVIVE…"

            "No! You can't take me!" X moaned, trying to raise his Buster. But when he saw it, it was nothing more than a hand…the hand of a maverick. Black and sinister…it writhed, trying to spread the black color to all reaches of his blue armor.

            "DESTROY…INFECT…SURVIVE…" X was pushed back, and thought came painfully. The virus was winning…X tried to cry but found he could not. How did Wycost fight this thing?

            "DESTROY…INFECT…SURVIVE…" X could barely count numbers, for the virus was now so loud in his head thought was almost impossible. He could feel himself dozing off…his systems yielding to the beastly power of the virus in all its fury. But then…something stopped the voice and the droning pulse ceased. The red darkness that had surrounded X vanished, and he could feel a strong hand help him up. X weakly opened his eyes to see…

            "Mega Man?!?" The Blue Bomber smiled gently at his younger brother, then gave him a powerful hug. X sobbed and returned the embrace.

            "What happened?" X muttered as he sniffed back a tear. Mega Man drew back and gave an answer.

            "It still lives, X. I am a ghost…a ghost that gave his life trying to protect the world from its monstrosity. I am speaking to you in a brief instant of this ordeal…like pausing a movie, if you will. I have come to talk to you."

            X rubbed the tear from his eye.

            "About what?" Mega gestured towards the frozen mass of black cables that hovered menacingly.

            "You see that? Wycost destroyed it. And you can as well. You just need to believe that you are stronger than it…and it will yield and be destroyed." X nodded. Mega Man was giving him the keys to open the chest.

            "I'm glad to see you have that straight. Now, I must return." Mega's image began to fade, and X was jolted back.

            "Mega Man!!! Don't leave me!!!" Mega shook his head.

            "It's not that easy. I told you…I'm a ghost. I'm speaking to you from the other side and it's like calling long distance…there is a toll. I know you can do it, X. Just know…that in whatever you do, you don't face it alone. You carry the good wishes of all of us." With a final flash, Mega Man vanished and the darkness restored itself.

            "DESTROY…INFECT…SURVIVE…" The voice continued, but now X simply batted it aside like a pitiful fly. A look of power was on his face, even with the tear of sorrow he held for his older brother.

            "NO. RESTORE…CURE…PROSPER!!!" X raised his hand, but now it was an X-Buster, more brilliant and blazing in power than any he had ever received in a capsule. With a powerful blast of will and hope…X fought back against the virus. The shot he fired was not plasma…it was something even brighter and more powerful than any destructive force ever known…it was pure hope.

            The white blast struck the virus, and began to eat at it. The virus screamed out, but X held no remorse. X had won against the Maverick Virus…and saved Zero.

            "X…X…X!!!!" X groaned and shook his head, trying to make his fuzzy and dizzy optics to blink into focus. When they did, he saw Wycost and Bastion standing above him. Wycost smiled.

            "By God, he did it. Internal deletion. X, you are strong...." Bastion nodded, but his face held worry.

            "X , buddy! We thought you had been infected big time! You scared us."

            "Ah...I'm all right. It took a little help." X muttered.

            "As it did with me." A foreign voice spoke up, and X's head swiveled. There, standing with his back braced against the wall stood Zero, that cocky smile of superiority on his face…but this time it also held a tiny sliver of gratitude and admiration. X's face beamed as he yelled in happiness and charged Zero. He picked up the taller Hunter off the ground and squeezed him tightly in a bearhug. Usually, Zero would have punched him in the head until he got put down, but this time, he merely laughed.

            "X, thanks for coming after me. I thought I had no friends in Maverick HHQ anymore. You devotion to me proved otherwise. You've saved me from Sigma's plans…and saved the world once again." X put Zero down and slapped him on the shoulder.

            "We can do awards ceremonies later, pal. Right now…I just wanna go home." Zero nodded. As they were walking out, Zero halted and looked down at the crumpled and motionless form of Sigma. X spoke up again.

            "You did that to him, you crazy Bastard! Not only that, you single-handedly destroyed all the mavericks! There is no more threat." Zero shook his head.

            "Man…no more mavericks? What are going to do now? Just place an ad and ask if anybody needs hired help who's been trained to kill on sight?" X patted him on the back.

            "I have a feeling that the threat's far from over, Zero. You can rest assured there is still more fighting left to be done." Zero smiled greatly, then reached down to the ground and picked up the beam saber beside Sigma. He activated it, and was comforted by the green glow.

            "Fine. But I want my good Z-Saber back!" X chuckled, then the four Hunters walked out of the underground maverick base, towards the surface.

            Even if they knew there was more fighting to be done, the only thought on their mind was what they were going to spend their wages on this month.


	16. Epilogue

**_MEGA MAN X: END OF A DREAM_**

By Erico

**EPILOGUE**

            "So, as you can see Dr. Cain, Zero was not infected. Hazil had simply taken a look at the readings from Fluid Ferret and mistaken them as Zero's." X announced. Wycost and Bastion winked at each other, for they knew that X had been on a comm channel with Hazil to put together the plausible lie. Zero stood at full attention, his shoulder bars missing and his saber being held by one of his men beside Cain.

            Cain scrutinized Zero, then X with his beady eyes. No longer were they bloodshot, for Hazil's sleepy potion had given him the rest he needed. X shifted uncomfortably, then continued.

            "And not only that, but Zero single-handedly destroyed every single maverick in the compound, including Sigma. And he used Fluid Ferret to get back to the lair, NOT to free him as a fellow maverick as was previously thought. I believe Zero's actions are a clear indication that he is not only a prime Hunter in our ranks, but also deserves the re-instatement of the rank of Unit Commander, and all privileges listed therewith." X finished his report with a flair, but he left Cain's office hanging with dead air.

            Nobody moved, nobody breathed, nobody blinked. The mood of this room depended solely upon Cain's response. Then with a heavy sigh and a weak smile, Cain nodded.

            "I agree. Zero, please approach me." Zero dropped from his attention and marched up to the front of Cain's desk. Cain reached into one of his desk drawers and pulled out two shoulder applets, one which held a jagged Z.

            "Zero, by the power invested in me as the prime authority of Maverick Hunter Headquarters, I hereby restore you to your rank of commander and reinstate you as the head of the Special Hunter Unit #00." Cain placed the two shoulder applets on Zero's shoulders, and then one of his troops handed him his saber. Everyone in the office clapped, and then Zero walked out of the room, with X beside him and Wycost and Bastion at their heels.

            "Zero, I never asked you. What happened to Fluid Ferret?" X questioned. Zero shook his head, but still held a smile.

            "The wily bugger escaped. But he's just one severely damaged maverick with restraints. What harm can he do?"

            Indeed, what can one maverick do? That was the question that raced through Fluid Ferret's mind as he examined the tattered remains of the maverick base. But then…a small voice called to him.

            "Ferret…over here…." Ferret raced over to where the voice emanated from, but what he saw shocked him. It was Sigma himself, badly wounded.

            "Sir! What happened?" Sigma grunted.

            "Zero…X destroyed…virus…"

            "NO…"

            "Mission…not over with…"

            "It never is, Sigma."

            "You…break my crystal…" Ferret responded instantly to the command, smashing the red crystal in Sigma's head. Instantly, the maverick nanobots went to work, unplugging Sigma's control chip and dragging it along with them as they crawled up Fluid Ferret's arm and into the control chip port in his head. Fluid Ferret could feel the chip of his leader being connected into his power, and then…a new sense of awareness.

            He looked down at his bonds…then broke them as he swung his arms apart. A smile crossed his face, and he spoke very quietly.

            "We are one." A small laugh came from his throat, but then it grew louder and louder, until the entire chamber bellowed with laugher…

            The maverick threat lived. But wherever there was trouble, there would be Hunters to handle it.

            For life is a constant struggle, good and evil clashing against each other. Sometimes, losses are felt and the dead are mourned. The heavy toll that had been required this time around was Zero's suffering, X's horrifying discovery, and Cain's internal torment.

            Perhaps life is short. But life is also a beautiful thing, and that is what the Hunters would always defend…life.

THE END???


End file.
